Intentional Torts (Wrongs)

On May 13, 2008 I took my thirteen year old daughter to family Dr. because she had a vaginal discharge. Dr. examined her and told me she had some yellow and green inside her. Dr. said it could be just a bacterial infection, or it could be Gonorrhea or Chlamydia. She said she would have to take swabs and run tests. I told her that I didn't have insurance. And she said that she could skip the tests and just prescribe daughter three generic medications that would knock out all three things.... but if I wanted to know for sure what daughter had, that they could do the tests for free at the Health Unit.

So, I took daughter to the Health Unit. I went to the exam room with her when they called her back. The nurse said that I had to wait in the waiting room. I asked why and she said that they get more out of the girls without their parents around. And I said that I already know everything and daughter would be honest in front of me, but she said I had to leave, it was some Patient Privacy Law or something. So I went to the waiting room. Nurse did the pelvic exam and took swabs while I was in the waiting room. When daughter came to get me from the waiting room, she whispered that the nurse was rude and rough.

We went back to the Health Unit three weeks later on June 5, 2008 to get the results from the STD tests. (Daughter was not on her period.) I was determined to stay with daughter this time because she had said the nurse was rude to her last time. I even told daughter on the way there that they weren't making me leave this time. But when I went back to exam room with her, the nurse said I had to wait in the waiting room. I told her daughter still had the discharge. I told her I already knew everything that was going on. I argued with her to stay. Daughter even told her she wanted me there. But nurse kept saying it was "Louisiana Law" and "Patient Confidentiality" and such. She was very adamant. She even said to me, and I quote, "Tell me what you want to tell me and leave." Her irritability should have been my first clue, but I believed her that it was the law, so I reluctantly went back to the waiting room. When they finally called me back, daughter was very quiet and looked so sad. I thought it must be bad news. But nurse said the test results were all negative. Then she said she couldn't see anything with the exam because daughter had suddenly started her period. Nurse even said to me that when she pulled out the speculum, it had period blood on it. (Looking back, why would she say it had "period" blood on it and not just say it "had blood on it"?) We left the building and got in the car. I looked at daughter and immediately knew something was very wrong. I said, " What's wrong, Baby?" and she busted out crying hysterically! I kept saying, "What's wrong...tell me what's wrong...Oh my god, what happened!?" But she was crying so hard that she couldn't talk. When she finally did, she was saying that the nurse hurt her bad! That she jammed the thing in! That she screamed and she just jammed it in farther! That there was nothing on it...that the last two times she had it done, there was "stuff" on it and they "kinda" slid it in, but this lady didn't put anything on it and she jammed it in! She was saying how it hurt so bad! And that she saw the blood on it when the lady pulled it out and it was not her period blood and how she would know because she's had her period since she was eight and it was darker than that and that blood was light! And that when I left, as soon as the door shut, the lady was yelling at her all mean and saying, "Now let's get one thing straight, you don't ever bring your mom back here again! You're making my job harder!" And I said, "Wait here."

And I got out my car and stomped back in. I accused her of hurting my daughter! I was yelling that just because people are poor or just because she doesn't agree with them being sexually active so young, didn't give her the right to abuse her power to torture them! I demanded to know why she didn't put lubricant on the speculum and she said they came "pre-lubricated" and I said prove it and she showed me the package of speculums on the counter and it did say "pre-lubricated" on the package and I said you don't use any other lubricant too and she said no and I said well what's in that (there was a bottle right next to the speculums) and she said it's for cleaning your hands (but thinking back, the bottle looked like a can of hair mousse that you have to turn upside down to use...and don't hand cleaners come with pumps to make them easier to use? And don't they wear gloves?) And I demanded to know where the speculum she used on her was and she said it was in the trash can and I said show me and she pointed to it and I pointed at it and said that one and she said yes and I took gloves out of the box sitting on the counter and put them on and demanded a zip lock and put it in the zip lock (and I still have it and it happens to be a medium size!) And I yelled and cried some more and stormed out!

I didn't know where I was going, but on the way down the road in the general direction of home I called the Sheriff's station and they were closed so some lady at some prison answered and I told her what that lady did to daughter and she said that I should take her to the emergency room and have her checked out. She said Our Lady Of The Lake had the best pediatric forensic something or other and that sadly they deal with these type of situations a lot. Not necessarily caused by doctors, but sexual trauma and such. She also said to contact a detective and definitely to pursue this further.

So I took daughter straight to Our Lady Of The Lake emergency room. It took at least an hour to get there. When we were being admitted they asked her on a scale of one to ten with ten being the worst pain you have ever felt, what number would you say your pain is now? And daughter said a five or six. And I looked at her and said, "What was it at the time she did the exam?" and she said, "Eleven."

When we got back to a room with a bed a "Sexual Trauma" nurse came in to talk to us. We told her everything and that's when I found out that it is not "Louisiana Law" that I have to leave especially during a physical exam because daughter is a minor! She talked about how it was supposed to be uncomfortable, but was not supposed to hurt that badly and how daughter was violated.

And after hours of waiting, Dr. came in to examine her and told me of course I could stay...that I should stay. She showed me the speculum and all the lubricant she was putting on it and then she began. There was another nurse there holding the light for her and they were both calming and reassuring. Telling daughter things like "Take a deep breath now." and "Almost done." But Dr. said, "This one won't go in. I'm not even going to try." And to the nurse she said, "Can you find me a smaller one?" The nurse brought back a smaller one and we all talked about how the first one was a medium and this one was a size small. And I said I didn't know that they came in different sizes. (And I cried some more because if something doesn't go in, you don't just force it! You find another way! Maybe more lubricant or a smaller size!) And then she slowly did her exam and she talked about how closed daughter was and how it could be swollen due to trauma from the time with the other nurse or just that daughter was scared to death (because of last time) and was clenching. (And it didn't help that daughter was shaking and cold! Obviously traumatized!) But Dr. said that she didn't see any abrasions and such. But that when she was off her period, I should take her to her family doctor and let them examine her. (But that would be a week and she'd probably be healed by then!) So after a total of four and a half hours, we went home.

When we got home I called the Sheriff's office again. An officer came over and daughter and I both filled out voluntary statements. Then he took our verbal statements. Then he called his supervisor and put me on the phone with him and he said that basically because I consented to the "exam" that it was not a criminal matter, but a civil matter and that first I should file a formal written complaint with the Health Unit and maybe consult an attorney.

And I have contacted A LOT of lawyers, and they either don't respond, or say that they can't help me and refer me to someone else. I know there's not a big payoff in this case, but the nurse was WRONG.
Nurse violated my right as a parent of a minor to be present at a physical exam. Nurse violated daughter's basic human right to be treated with dignity and respect at such a personal exam. Nurse maliciously verbally and physically assaulted daughter.

After extensive research on the web, every site on women's pelvic exams say that there may be pressure or discomfort, but should NOT be painful. And after researching the law, I beleive this is an Intentional Torts case. By nurse's words and demeanor, it is obvious that she itended to inflict harm and emotional distress on daughter.

My daughter has started counseling because she has nightmares and can't let her boyfriend touch her now. I fear she is traumatized, much like a rape victim. And she is scared to death that nurse is still hurting other girls.

WHAT DO I DO???

Lawyers told you that you have no legal recourse.

It is highly unlikely this is a criminal matter.

Thankfully, your sexually active daughter does not have an STD, or worse.

Your recourse is to file a complaint with your state agency which licenses medical professionals.

You say you did extensive research on the web on 'women's pelvic exams'. A thirteen year old is NOT a woman, but a child. It is likely, an internal exam would be more painful than for a woman.

"My daughter has started counseling because she has nightmares and can't let her boyfriend touch her now. "

Any '13 year old' child engaged in sexual relations does indeed requires counseling. I suggest you contact her school guidance office for help, or enlist the aid of your pastor or doctor for referral.

"Lawyers told you that you have no legal recourse."

No, lawyers told me thay couldn't help me, and referred me to yet another lawyer.

"It is highly unlikely this is a criminal matter."

I know this. In my very long story, I stated that a police officer told me that it was not a criminal matter, but a civil matter.

"Thankfully, your sexually active daughter does not have an STD, or worse."

I agree. But you sound a little judgemental, don't you think. And I forgot to mention that she only had intercourse twice. And whether she is right or wrong for that, NOBODY deserves what she went through!

"Your recourse is to file a complaint with your state agency which licenses medical professionals."

Already been done. They are inverstigating. I hope she is fired b/c it probably wasn't the first time she hurt someone, and sadly, will probably not be the last.

"You say you did extensive research on the web on 'women's pelvic exams'. A thirteen year old is NOT a woman, but a child. It is likely, an internal exam would be more painful than for a woman."

Did you miss the part in my story where I said she had TWO pelvic exams three weeks before, and NEITHER hurt. You're a woman, would you like the
nurse doing your pelvic exam to JAM it in you?

"Any '13 year old' child engaged in sexual relations does indeed requires counseling. I suggest you contact her school guidance office for help, or enlist the aid of your pastor or doctor for referral."

Again, did you even read it. She IS in counseling.

For the record, I don't agree with her STUPID decisions. But I love her regardless.

And you seem to agree with the nurse, that since she made such a STUPID decision, that she SHOULD be verbally and physically tortured for it. It is God's job to punish us for our sins...not that nurse's...not your's. Shame on you for thinking that what that nurse did was okay.

"And you seem to agree with the nurse, that since she made such a STUPID decision...

I cannot imagine how you arrived at that conclusion I agreed with the nurse, since I suggested that your recourse is to report her.

"I said she had TWO pelvic exams three weeks before, and NEITHER hurt. "

NOTHING in your post said she had 2 pelvic exams 3 weeks prior to the one you complain about. Screening for STDs unfortunately requires pelvic exams. It should be of concern that any 13 year old would require so many pelvic exams for suspicion of STDS.

"No, lawyers told me thay couldn't help me, and referred me to yet another lawyer."

Lawyers are in the business to make money via litigation. If several attorneys tell you they can't help you, it means it is unlikely you can sue.

Apparently, she has suffered no physical injury as you have alluded to in your first post.

As I stated, "Thankfully, your sexually active daughter does not have an STD, or worse."

to which you posted:

"I agree. But you sound a little judgemental, don't you think. And I forgot to mention that she only had intercourse twice."

No, that is NOT being judgmental. It is a statement based on the information you presented.

Biologically, a child is anyone in the developmental stage of childhood, between infancy and adulthood.

A thirteen year old is STILL considered a child and should NOT be having intercourse, period. If you believe that is judgmental, that is your calling but any parent should be concerned about a child being sexually active and in this regard, I believe she needs counseling and believe ANY responsible professional would offer the same advice.

"On May 13, 2008 I took my thirteen year old daughter to family Dr. because she had a vaginal discharge. Dr. examined her and told me she had some yellow and green inside her."

Hence, the FIRST PELVIC EXAM.

"So, I took daughter to the Health Unit. I went to the exam room with her when they called her back. The nurse said that I had to wait in the waiting room. I asked why and she said that they get more out of the girls without their parents around. And I said that I already know everything and daughter would be honest in front of me, but she said I had to leave, it was some Patient Privacy Law or something. So I went to the waiting room. Nurse did the pelvic exam and took swabs while I was in the waiting room."

Now, SECOND PELVIC EXAM.

The reasons she had to have THREE PELVIC EXAMS are:

A. I didn't have insurance to take swabs and pay for tests at family doctor. So I opted for generic prscripts Dr. said would knock out WHATEVER it was.

B. THREE VERY STRONG medicanes from family doctor were making her nauseous all day every day, and making her throw up every time she ate. So I took her to FREE health unit to find out EXACTLY what she had so she would only have to take ONE medication. They said they HAD to do pelvic exam there.

C. When I went back to health unit three weeks later to get results, she STILL had discharge. The STD results were negative, but obviously all those medicanes did not work. And nurse did YET ANOTHER pelvic exam without my consent. I guess she didn't believe us that she still had the discharge, she must have wanted to see for herself.
And that is when she proceeded to intentionally verbally and physically assault my child. That is against the law, so I can sue. Lawyers don't want to help because there is no money in it for them. Nurse will be paying daughter's ER bills and counseling bills, since she intentionally caused her harm and emotional distress.


KIDShealth.org states "Putting in and opening the speculum should not be painful, although some women say that it can cause a bit of pressure and discomfort."

Nurse lied and said it was the law that I couldn't be in there. estronaut.com states "During an exam, it is likely that a nurse will also be in the room to assist the doctor." About.com states"6. Remember, you are entitled to have a female nurse present during the exam, even if your doctor is female. If you want the nurse present, say so as soon as possible - and it is OK to ask the nurse to join you part way through." kidshealth.org states "It's best to involve your parents in your health care." www.utoronto.ca states "You may ask to have your husband, a friend or the nurse in the room with you." www.nyu.edu states "Many women complain that the most objectionable part of the exam is that it feels undignified to have to expose one's genitals to a stranger." "It is okay to have someone with you, such as your mother or a close girlfriend."

Nurse used excessive force and hurt daughter.
coolnurse.com states "The pelvic exam should not hurt and if at any point it does, make sure to let the practicioner know." (daughter screamed out in pain. She cried the whole time.) MayoClinic.com states "Inserting and opening the speculum can cause pressure or discomfort for some women. Relaxing as much as possible may ease discomfort, but tell your doctor if it is painful." About.com states "10. The exam will be uncomfortable, even awkward, but should not hurt." kidshealth.org states "The most important thing is that you feel comfortable with the person who is examining you." "Putting in and opening the speculum should not be painful, although some women say that it can cause a bit of pressure and discomfort." www.sogc.org states "It is true that a pelvic exam can be embarassing, but it does not hurt. During a pelvic exam, you will feel pressure (like someone squeezing you hard), but you should not feel pain." "It should not hurt when the doctor gently slides [speculum] into your vagina. If you do feel any discomfort, let your doctor know." www.nyu.edu states "The pelvic exam will not hurt. Many woman describe the experience as a sensation of crowding or fullness in the vagina; however, there should be no pain." "Should the speculum cause you discomfort, tell your clinician immediately; often a smaller speculum can be used." www.womenshealthmatters.ca states "You may feel pressure, but it should not be painful." Laith Farid Gulli, M.D. ; Robert Ramirez, B.S. state "Other than minor discomfort, there are no risks associated with a routine pelvic examination." studenthealth.sa.ucsb.edu states "The pelvic exam should not be painful or embarrassing." "Your provider will gently insert a plastic speculum. The speculum holds open the vaginal wall. You will feel some pressure when the speculum is inserted but it is done slowly and carefully. If you do feel tenderness or pain, tell the provider so that the speculum can be adjusted to make you feel more comfortable." www.utoronto.ca states "He or she inserts a slender instrument (made of plastic or smooth metal) called a speculum gently into your vagina, opening vagina to see your cervix. For easier insertion, the doctor lubricates the speculum and may heat the instrument to make it more comfortable for you."


Daughter said that when nurse pulled out the speculum, she shut her legs, and tried to keep them shut, to protect herself. But nurse proceeded to physically force daughter's legs open. Nurse held open daughter's legs with one arm and shoved her fingers in her. When I asked daughter if nurse felt the ouside of her stomach, she said no. In a bimanual exam, per estronaut.com, "For this part of the exam, the doctor will lubricate her index and middle fingers with K-Y jelly to aid in the comfort of the patient during insertion into the vagina. The doctor will place these two fingers on the cervix while placing her other hand on the patient's abdomen (over the uterus.) She will then press down lightly, which does not feel much different from when a doctor presses on the abdomen alone. Both hands are used to get a feeling for the size of the uterus. The doctor may use the fingers inside the vagina to move the cervix around a little to check for any pain, as this would indicate pelvic inflammatory disease. The doctor will then move both her fingers inside the vagina to both the right and left side's of the patient's cervix. She will move her abdominal hand also a litle to the right and left to feel for the size of the ovaries and to try to locate any abnormalties." kidshealth.org states "With two hands, one on the outside and one on the inside, the doctor can make sure that the ovaries and uterus are the right size and free of cysts or other growths." ( Now, I ask you, what was she doing? She was only supposed to be looking for a discharge. The bimanual exam was not only not necessary, but done very incorrectly. She forced daughter's legs open to shove her fingers in, but never felt the outside of her abdomen? Why? I believe she was just continuing the torture.)




As per FindLaw.com:

ABA Family Legal Guide; Regulating Health-Care Professionals states "The most common ground for suspending a license is unprofessional conduct." "A jury will compare your doctor's conduct with how other doctors would have acted if faced with the same or similar circumstances." (I believe that all those websites prove that most doctors would be kind and gentle, caring about the patient's comfort.)

ABA Family Legal Guide; Rights and Responsibilities of Parents states "Parents have a right to direct the care, control, and upbringing of their children for as long as they are minors." "Parents also have the legal authority to control their children's behavior and social lives. Parents may discipline or punish their children appropriately. They may not, however, use cruel methods or excessive force; that constitutes child abuse." (Nurse's cruel methods and excessive force should also constitute child abuse!)

ABA Family Legal Guide; Abuse and Neglect Laws states "The law protects children from abuse and neglect. It also entitles them to the protection of the state." "It is a crime for adults to abuse children in their care. The term "adult" includes parents, foster parents, legal guardians, other adults in home, family members, and baby-sitters. Supervising adults may not go beyond reasonable physical punishment. Child abuse laws involve not only physical abuse, but include other types of cruelty, such as subjecting a child to extreme humiliation." (For all intents and purposes, when nurse made me leave child alone with her, she became her "baby-sitter" and she subjected her to cruelty and extreme humiliation!) (I don't know why these laws are so narrow as to WHO can commit child abuse. Child abuse is just that, the "abuse" of a "child" no matter who does the abusing!)

ABA Family Legal Guide; The Basics of Personal Injury Law states "Your injury must be the result of someone else's fault. Your injury need not be physical to bring a personal injury lawsuit. Suits may be based on a variety of nonphysical losses and harms to your reputation or psyche. In the intentional tort of assault, for example, you do not need to show that a person's actions caused you actual physical harm, but only that it caused an expectation that some harm would come to you. You may also have an action if someone has...negligently or intentionally subjected you to emotional distress."

ABA Family Legal Guide; Personal Injury; Intentional Wrongs states " Intentional torts are those in which the wrongdoer intends to act in a certain way." "Some common intentional torts against a person include assault,......and intentional infliction of emotional distress." "A person who is found liable for an intentional tort does more than just act carelessly. The person committing the intentional tort knows the consequences of his or her actions." "The law considers torts to be wrongs against an individual, allowing them to sue for money damages." "An assault is a reasonable apprehension (expectation) of some harm that may come to you. Unlike a battery, you must know that an assault is occuring at the time it takes place. A court will look at what happened. A great deal will depend on the reasonableness of your own feelings when threatened. The court will consider whether the closeness of the physical threat subjectively should have upset, frightened, or humiliated you. Words alone usually aren't enough to bring a case for assault." (But add physical assault too. Nurse MEANT to cause child pain, upset, frighten and humiliate her. It is perfectly reasonable for a child who is alone, naked, spread open and vulnerable to have all of these feelings, especially coming from an adult in such a position of authority and that you are supposed to be able to trust to treat you with dignity and respect at such a personal exam. And nurse, being a nurse and a female knew that.)

lawyers.com states "In a failure to use reasonable care, under Louisiana law, the person who injuredd you is responsible for:

Past, current and future medical expenses.

Your emotional distress, including anxiety,depression, and any interference with your family relationships.

Any other costs that were a direct result of your injury.

Your first post is misleading, as you state:

"Dr. examined her and told me she had some yellow and green inside her. Dr. said it could be just a bacterial infection, or it could be Gonorrhea or Chlamydia. She said she would have to take swabs and run tests. I told her that I didn't have insurance. And she said that she could skip the tests and just prescribe daughter three generic medications that would knock out all three things.... but if I wanted to know for sure what daughter had, that they could do the tests for free at the Health Unit..."

Skip the tests ... ??? and she sent you to the Health Unit since they would do the tests for free??? That certainly is NOT indicative of a first pelvic exam - it seems they sent you to the Health Unit, by your own admission.

and NOW you appear to contradict your earlier statement regarding that first visit:
"Hence, the FIRST PELVIC EXAM."

"That is against the law, so I can sue." ...

In order to sue, you must prove actual injury - and have a medical expert attest to negligence/injury. You also must pay for a medical expert to review the matter before you can sue anyone for medical malpractice. That initial review can cost anywhere from $5,000-upward.

Incidentally, Louisiana law requires a Certificate of Merit before any malpractice suit can be filed.
In order to file a certificate of merit, a plaintiff will first have to have an expert, usually another physician, review the relevant medical records and certify that the plaintiff's health care provider deviated from accepted medical practices, which resulted in injury to the plaintiff.

You came here asking;

WHAT DO I DO???

Since you indicated you contacted a lot of lawyers and could not find an attorney to represent you, I suggested you file a complaint with your state board responsible for licensing medical professionals.

Since you seem to know so much about the law, what did you come here for?

As with any victim of medical malpractice, your recourse is to find a lawyer to sue. You stated...

"And I have contacted A LOT of lawyers, and they either don't respond, or say that they can't help me and refer me to someone else...."

To the right of this page is the Find A Lawyer feature which includes attorneys who specialize in medical malpractice.

You will still need a MEDICAL expert to review your daughter's medical history and one who will testify on your daughter's behalf that as a result of negligence, she suffered injury. Before ANY suit can be filed in Louisiana, you must obtain a Certificate of Merit from a medical expert in order to file a malpractice claim.

"Dr. examined her and told me she had some yellow and green inside her."

EXAMINED...AS IN "PELVIC EXAM" and how else would the doctor know that there was yellow and green INSIDE her.

"Skip the tests ... ??? and she sent you to the Health Unit since they would do the tests for free???"

The doctor skipped taking swabs DURING THE FIRST PELVIC EXAM) and sending them to a lab so that I would not have to pay for that.

And I don't plan to sue under Medical Malpractice. I plan to sue under Personal Injury, Intentional Torts. Hence, the title of my whole story.

"WHAT DO I DO?"... as in "can anybody help me?" You obviously don't want to "help" me, and even if you did, you obviously couldn't b/c you can't seem to understand the smallest details. So you should just stop responding to my posts. I am looking for a lawyer (for my PERSONAL INJURY, INTENTIONAL TORT case) that is willing to do it more on getting justice for a young girl, rather than the money he may or may not get for it. Basically, I'm looking for a lawyer with a heart. I know they're out there somewhere, I just haven't found one YET.

was to interest a lawyer in taking your case, you're in the wrong place. The rules of the site prohibit referrals, and reputable attorneys do not troll message boards looking for clients.

Personal injury against a medical provider will fall under malpractice. Malpractice is negligence (a general tort) committed by a professional.

Stop being so argumentative. Open your ears/eyes and listen.

Malpractice is a tort committed by a professional. Period. You'll have to sue under the law government malpractice.

You can report the person to the agency that regulates medicine in your state.

Only a handful of attorneys are on this site, and none of them come here looking for clients.

If you speak with an attorney and he won't take the case, ask him for the names of other attorneys.

Your post is far, farr too long given the subject. You can't expect folks to wade through all that. (I notice where you give folks flak for not having retained this or that piece of perhaps relevant info in the novel you posted, with the "Did you miss the part ..." comments.)

"When daughter came to get me from the waiting room, she whispered that the nurse was rude and rough.

"I told her daughter still had the discharge."

You don't say what if any treatment protocols they began or whether they could complete tests on-site while you were there the first time.

"But Dr. said that she didn't see any abrasions and such."

"And I have contacted A LOT of lawyers, and they either don't respond, or say that they can't help me and refer me to someone else."

There's isn't a medical malpractice case here, and I'm not surprised that attorneys might be reluctant to actually tell you so because there isn't enough money in your case to be viable. Your daughter suffered no serious or permanent injury. You've already done all you can do by reporting it to the relevant state agency. (I trust you wrote a letter to the director of the clinic as well.)

You are free, however, to write a letter to the director of the clinic and whichever state agency oversees its operations and demand $X for the counseling sessions for your daughter, assuming you paid those out of pocket.

"You are free, however, to write a letter to the director of the clinic and whichever state agency oversees its operations and demand $X for the counseling sessions for your daughter, assuming you paid those out of pocket."

Thank you. This was good advice.