When most people visit their doctor for a procedure or consultation, they do so with the expectation that they’ll be respected as a person. Few, if any, worry about being put in a situation where a doctor might take advantage of them in any way. Unfortunately for one woman, this was her reality when she visited her neurologist in Wichita Falls. According to the woman, Dr. Daalon Braunde Echols “sexually exploited and assaulted her while she was his patient.” She has since filed a lawsuit against him.
When most people visit their doctor for a procedure or consultation, they do so with the expectation that they’ll be respected as a person. Few, if any, worry about being put in a situation where a doctor might take advantage of them in any way. Unfortunately for one woman, this was her reality when she visited her neurologist in Wichita Falls. According to the woman, Dr. Daalon Braunde Echols “sexually exploited and assaulted her while she was his patient.” She has since filed a lawsuit against him.
According to the lawsuit, Dr. Echols “was engaged in providing mental health services for Plaintiff when he used his power, control, and knowledge of his patient victim to subject her to sexual contact and sexual intercourse that was wholly outside the course of any physical examination and … medical treatment.”
So what happened exactly? How did her ordeal begin? Well, the woman began seeing Dr. Echols for diagnostic assistance and treatment back in February of 2016 after it was discovered she had a brain tumor and neurological medical issues. Being on a fixed income and living in Section 8 public subsidized housing, she was a Medicare patient and, according to the lawsuit, Dr. Echols “was the only neurologist in Wichita Falls who accepts Medicare.”
Shortly after her treatment, Dr. Echols began calling and texting her, “eventually sending her lewd text messages and photographs, which were attached as exhibits in the lawsuit with a ‘viewer discretion advised’ warning,” according to the lawsuit. Additionally, the lawsuit claims that the doctor told her “she would feel better physically and emotionally if she had sexual relations with him, and she eventually succumbed to Defendant’s emotional pressuring.”
When Dr. Echols and the woman were together, the doctor would “drink alcoholic beverages and smoke marijuana” during their sexual relations, and often “encouraged Plaintiff patient to engage in drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, knowing she suffered from severe headaches and had a brain tumor.”
In truth, the woman was going through a nightmare scenario and felt there was no way to escape other than filing a lawsuit, which is alleging “five counts for which she is seeking court action: sexual exploitation by a mental health services provider, sexual assault, breach of fiduciary duty, intentional infliction of emotional distress and punitive and exemplary damages,” according to the lawsuit. Additionally, she is seeking compensation to help cover the past and future medical expenses to “treat and relieve the effects” of her ordeal, such as mental anguish and “loss of enjoyment of life.”
Punitive and exemplary damages are also being sought in an effort to “punish and deter the outrageous conduct undertaken in heedless and reckless disregard from the safety and well being” of the woman. At the moment she hasn’t mentioned an exact number but trusts that a jury will make the right decision in terms of the amount.
At the moment, Dr. Echols has not responded to the allegations or lawsuit.
Sources:
Lawsuit: Neurologist sexually exploited female patient
Wichita Falls Neurologist Accused of Sexually Exploiting Patient
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