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[/profileleft]No one looks forward to having X-rays done. An X-ray is not painful, but the reason such a test is done is because someone is experiencing some sort of pain. People who are injured generally have enough to think about in terms of their recovery. Most people won’t think that they’re under any sort of threat when they have an X-ray done. Unfortunately, a local woman is alleging that she was more than threatened when she underwent an X-ray recently – she’s alleging that she suffered through sexual assault.
What’s worse is that she’s alleging that this happened not once, but twice. She’s also alleging that the same person committed both acts. John Gomez, a San Diego personal injury lawyer and the founder of Gomez Trial Attorneys, is representing the woman. Below is an overview of this troubling situation.
About the Alleged Sexual Assault(s)
KGTV Channel 10 in San Diego broadcast a story about the alleged sexual assaults that occurred. Those interested in seeing it can find it here. The alleged victim, who only wanted to be identified as Priscilla because of the severe emotional distress she has already endured, was involved in a car accident 15 years ago. She injured her back in that crash. That accident led to the need for several different medical tests over the years, including X-rays to examine the progress of her recovery from those injuries.
Priscilla was sent, by way of the orders of her doctor, to San Ysidro Health Center for the X-rays. The initial incident occurred approximately 18 months ago. She alleges that when she went to the health center for that set of X-rays, the X-ray technician “checked her out” but did not touch her. On January 3 of this year, Priscilla once again went to the San Ysidro Health Center to have X-rays done on her nose and her ribs.
The same X-ray technician who had made her more than uncomfortable during the previous experience showed her to a changing room. The technician asked Priscilla to remove her clothing, including her panties. He also asked her to keep her robe open along the front. Priscilla questioned this directive, but she was told it was necessary.
At this point, Priscilla alleges that when she got into the X-ray room, the technician opened her gown and looked at her breasts and her body. When Priscilla got onto the X-ray table, the technician allegedly told her that he needed to touch her pubic bone. He touched her body three or four different times by applying pressure to it with his fingers.
Priscilla stated that she knew what had happened was wrong, so she reported the incident to the San Ysidro Health Center. The health center told her that it would conduct an internal investigation. Three weeks later, she received a letter from the health center. The letter stated that the X-ray technician had used appropriate techniques and that he had complied with all of the standards that apply to such a situation. In short, the center flatly denied Priscilla’s allegations.
Taking Action
Priscilla decided that she needed help. She retained John Gomez to help her protect her legal rights. Mr. Gomez responded by filing a claim on his client’s behalf against the San Ysidro Health Center with the United States Department of Justice. The claim, which serves as a precursor to a personal injury lawsuit, alleges that the San Ysidro Health Center was negligent and that it had acted with callous indifference for the rights and safety of its patients.
Mr. Gomez believes that this is not the only time that the X-ray technician in question acted in such a manner. That’s because the alleged sexual assault was so brazen that it’s likely that other patients have had to endure similar conduct. Both Mr. Gomez and Priscilla are hoping that taking this action will not only properly enforce her legal rights, but will also prevent this type of occurrence from taking place in the future.
About the San Ysidro Health Center
The San Ysidro Health Center is a non-profit organization. Its stated mission is to provide high-quality and affordable health care services for families. It was established in 1969 near the United States/Mexico border. The SYHC, as it’s commonly known, primarily serves low-income and/or Spanish-speaking families by providing several different types of medical services. Mr. Gomez believes that the fact that many of the SYHC’s patients are low-income, non-English speaking families makes them vulnerable to sexual assault and other crimes, as people in these positions are less likely to report an incident to authorities.
In the story that aired on KGTV, the San Ysidro Health Center denied the sexual assault allegations against the X-ray technician. The facility also stated that no other complaints had been filed against him. While the SYHC declined to go into further detail with regards to these alleged incidents based on privacy concerns, it proclaimed itself an ethical organization that served the needs of 90,000 people throughout San Diego County.
Protect Your Rights If You’ve Been Violated
As stated above, Mr. Gomez believes that other women may have been assaulted at the SYHC. In order to do everything possible to make sure that this type of alleged conduct is not repeated, he is asking anyone who may have experienced something similar to contact the firm’s office as soon as possible. Those who want to learn more about their legal rights and options can contact the firm either through this page or by calling 619-237-3490 to schedule a free initial consultation.
