Wednesday, July 23, 2003
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Wednesday, July 23, 2003 |
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Doctor's 'inappropriate' exam of woman is on trial By JOHN MUNFORD
A Fayette woman testified Tuesday that she was scared after what she called an inappropriate exam by her gynecologist in January of last year. Cindy Anita Head, 41, testified in court Monday that Dr. Orlando Cano did not wear gloves or use a light while he was conducting the physical exam, both procedures which she had become accustomed to during previous yearly exams. Cano, who is no longer practicing medicine according to officials, also conducted the exam without the presence of a female nurse, Head said. Cano is on trial for one count of sexual battery and one count of reckless conduct for his alleged actions during the exam. He has pled not guilty to the charges, which are both misdemeanors. Although defense attorney Stephen Roberts pointed out that Head did not share her concerns immediately after the exam with a member of Cano's staff, Head said that was because she was "in shock." "I was scared," Head said, adding later that she filed a complaint with the Georgia Board of Examiners. "I wanted to try to find out why I wasn't given proper care and why I was taken advantage of," Head added. During opening statements, Cano's other attorney, Lynne Borsuk, said the case centered on Head's claim, which she contended was false. "This is a case about one disgruntled patient and her complaint snowballing out of control," Borsuk said. Head did not ask Cano to halt the examination at any time, Borsuk added. But State Court Solicitor Steve Harris said there will be testimony during the trial that Cano tried to convince a nurse to say she was present during the exam although she was not. Cano even told that nurse that he would send her to surgical assistant's school, but he eventually fired her, Harris said. Head testified that she never saw or heard Cano put on medical gloves before the exam. She said she had become concerned when she first entered the exam room and saw no instruments out for the doctor to collect a specimen for her pap smear. Head said she confronted Cano about the incident a month after the exam and he claimed he was nothing but a gentleman and that he acted appropriately. She said he threw some items off a desk during the conversation, which Head attempted to record using a "wire" given to her by an agent of the Georgia Board of Medical Examiners. Head said she was told the taped conversation was not discernible. "I was told it was not of any use," Head testified. Various medical records from Head's file at Dr. Cano's office have been entered as evidence, but the contents of those records was in dispute during Head's testimony. Although the records indicated Head had another medical complaint, Head contended that she was only there for her yearly exam and she made no other complaints to Cano. The date and time of some of the medical tests were also in question, since the results from the pap smear indicated that the specimen was collected just after 10 a.m., which was before Head had gone back to the exam room, she said.
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