Three female doctors suing a top Los Angeles orthopedic surgeon claim their reports of his alleged disturbing behavior were ignored for years until they were fired in retaliation.
Dr. Madonna Fernandez-Frackelton, Dr. Haleh Badkoobehi and Dr. Jennifer Hsu claim they encountered a wall of opposition after filing a lawsuit against Dr. Louis Kwong, former head of orthopedics at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California.
Kwong is accused of sexual harassment, retaliation and lewd behavior, including bringing a gun into his office and sticking his finger into the wound of an unconscious patient while making sexual noises.
As Kwong continues to receive more than $1 million while he is under investigation, the trio claim they were stripped of their roles after filing two lawsuits.
Fernandez-Frackelton claims that when she asked why Kwong remained on the payroll, she was told the hospital needed to “give a talented man a chance before you turn into a pumpkin.”
Dr. Louis Kwong, former head of orthopedics at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, pictured with a gun on his hip in his office
The top L.A. surgeon is facing a series of allegations of sexual harassment and lewd behavior, including that he stuck his finger into an unconscious patient’s wound while making sex noises
Kwong, a volunteer deputy sheriff, allegedly walked into his office with a gun on his hip, part of a series of disturbing allegations against the doctor.
He is said to have requested that a baseball game be shown on television while a patient’s surgery was being monitored.
Kwong Badkoobehi also allegedly showed an anesthetized patient’s penis after being told it was big.
The resident doctors also felt encouraged to visit strip clubs together – and were sometimes taken against their consent, the lawsuit says.
According to the lawsuit, Kwong once asked other Harbor-UCLA employees, “Who would like physical photos of Dr. Make Badkoobehi?”
And Kwong frequently delayed emergency surgeries so he could perform elective procedures, according to her lawsuit.
“We basically had to play Tetris and move pieces to appease him,” Hsu told the LA Times.
But the three female doctors said in their lawsuit that their complaints about him had been ignored for years and that there was strong misogyny at the facility, with all three saying they were paid less than their male colleagues.
Kwong has worked at the hospital since 1990 and was placed on leave in March 2022.
Dr. Jennifer Hsu filed the lawsuit alongside two of her colleagues, claiming Kwong’s constant postponement of surgeries caused others to “basically play Tetris and move pieces around to appease him.”
Dr. Madonna Fernandez-Frackelton says she was fired as emergency room program director and replaced by a less experienced man after her complaint
Dr. Haleh Badkoobehi claimed the surgeon asked other staff if they wanted to take “body shots” of her
Kwong was ultimately placed on administrative leave in the spring of 2022, but Harbor UCLA has insisted that its policy is for him to remain on paid leave during the investigation against him.
Since Kwong was placed on administrative leave, he has earned nearly $1 million in salary and benefits in one year, according to the county’s salary database.
“This system of investigating everything is beyond problematic,” Badkoobehi said.
“For many years they received complaint after complaint and they were covered up. “They were ignored.”
Badkoobehi was the one who claimed Kwong stuck his finger into a hip wound and claimed he made sexual noises while explaining he was in the process of “finding the G-spot.”
Although the hospital’s CEO said the allegations against Kwong were “very serious,” nothing has changed, Badkoobehi said.
This was confirmed by Fernandez-Frackelton, who said she immediately realized that her allegations would cause considerable commotion in the hospital.
“I knew that if I filed a complaint [the oversight board] “I saw it as legitimate, I was putting the ward, the hospital and everyone else at risk,” she said.
Kwong’s suspension came only after the doctors filed their complaints with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, a legislative body with the power to close the entire facility.
In their complaint, they said that “the leadership of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and the management of the hospital at Harbor-UCLA have been aware of and acknowledged these instances of unprofessional conduct for years.”
“However, we believe that appropriately significant changes have not been made to correct these behaviors and improve this culture.”
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center responded to the lawsuits by saying it “remains a leading institution committed to excellence in both learning and care.”
Their complaints allegedly led to them losing their prestigious positions at the hospital.
Fernandez-Frackelton says she was removed as emergency department program director and replaced by a less experienced man.
Badkooobehi was also punished with dismissal as associate program director for orthopedic surgery residents after she was asked to investigate allegations that Kwong instigated in an operating room at a baseball game.
Badkooobehi said a previous complaint in 2019 about another doctor that eventually went viral on Reddit was also used to pressure her to drop her allegations.
According to texts seen by the LA Times, she received a text message saying, “I wish you had called me about this.” “I’m very worried that once she’s out of Harbor, the narrative won’t go down is within our control and may well result in risk reduction and acceptance that the Reddit thread represents genuine experiences and observations.”
“This will undoubtedly serve as an investigation into the events and personalities reported,” the text continues.
Carol Gillam, representing the doctors, said: “This story is unfortunately all too familiar, of powerful doctors at prestigious teaching hospitals abusing patients and flaunting their own privileges and connections to the men who are supposed to supervise, discipline and remove them.” .’
In a statement, the health service said, “Harbor-UCLA remains a world-class institution committed to excellence in both learning and care.”
It was claimed that hospital management were “already working to address the council’s concerns and expect to be able to do so in a very timely manner”.