LOGAN – A woman who sued an emergency room doctor she claimed assaulted her, voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit.
Aleshia Hunter, through her counsel, provided notice of her voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit with prejudice pursuant to the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure, according to the notice filed Jan. 14.
Hunter had filed a lawsuit Dec. 8 in Logan Circuit Court against Logan General Hospital, Marshall Emergency Services Associates and Dr. Rely Carbonel, claiming Carbonel assaulted her.
On Dec. 11, 2012, Hunter became concerned when she experienced vaginal bleeding because she had undergone an endometrial ablating in 2006, so she called her primary care physician, whose office told her to go the emergency room.
Hunter claimed she called the Logan Regional Medical Center emergency room to inquire about which physicians were on duty and was informed by Nurse Randall that Carbonel and another physician were there, so she informed the nurse she did not wish to be treated by Carbonel due to his reputation in the community with female patients.
Despite this, when she arrived at the hospital, Carbonel walked into the examination room, so Hunter requested he perform an ultrasound instead of a vaginal exam.
Carbonel refused and inserted his hand into her vagina as he made lewd, inappropriate and disgusting comments, which were witnessed by Wendy Short, another of the defendant’s employees, according to the suit.
Hunter claimed she immediately informed Randall of the incident, and Randall contacted the medical center’s director of human resources.
Hunter then met with the director, Short, Randall and Josh Keyser, and Short confirmed the lewd comments Carbonel had made while examining Hunter, according to the suit.
Hunter claimed the next day she left a message with the hospital administrator to see if they had taken any action, and he called her back to inform her that he had discussed the incident with Carbonel but it was not until a week later that an investigator hired by Marshall Emergency Services informed her Carbonel would be fired.
Hunter claimed the investigator called back to inform her he would not be fired until the end of December 2012, but would not be permitted to treat female patients.
The defendants continued to allow Carbonel to treat its patients after the incident, and even sent Hunter a bill for her visit to the facility during which she was assaulted, according to the suit.
Hunter was seeking compensatory and punitive damages plus interest, attorney fees and costs of litigation. She is represented by attorney Todd S. Bailess of Bailess Law Firm.
The case was assigned to Circuit Judge Roger L. Perry.
Logan Circuit Court case number: 14-C-321
