Liakas Law, P.C. and Slater Slater Schulman LLP File Lawsuit Against NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital for Employing Gastroenterologist Accused of Drugging and Sexually Assaulting Patient and Conspiring to Cover Up the Attack

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Jun 06, 2023, 09:25 ET

Defendant Has Been Additionally Charged With First-Degree Rape and Sexual Abuse, Unlawful Surveillance by Queens District Attorney's Office

NewYork-Presbyterian Also Employed Robert Hadden, Convicted Gynecologist Who Abused Hundreds of Patients

QUEENS, N.Y., June 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York and Presbyterian Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens ("NewYork-Presbyterian") has been named in a civil action alleging that a patient was drugged and sexually assaulted by a Zhi Alan Cheng, M.D., a gastroenterologist practicing at its Flushing location. The complaint was filed today in Queens County Supreme Court by attorneys at Liakas Law, P.C., a litigation and personal injury practice with offices in New York and New Jersey, and Slater Slater Schulman LLP, a national law firm focused on representing survivors of sexual abuse and catastrophic events. In 2021, Slater Slater Schulman reached a $71.5 million settlement with Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian on behalf of 79 patients who were sexually abused by former gynecologist-obstetrician Robert Hadden.

"Our client fully expected when she was admitted to NewYork-Presbyterian that she would be treated with the care and skill required and expected of a world-class hospital system in New York State," said Nicholas Liakas, Partner of Liakas Law, P.C. "Instead, by the time she was discharged five days later, she had been injected with an unknown drug, rendered unconscious, and was filmed being violently sexually assaulted by Dr. Zhi Alan Cheng. What's more, we have evidence that the hospital system knew our client had been sexually assaulted and conspired to cover it up, never disclosing the incident to the victim or police. Worse, they permitted Dr. Cheng to continue to treat our client after the assault and employed him for nearly a year after. Given his predatory behavior, we strongly suspect that he assaulted other patients and urge them to come forward."

"At the time of my firm's previous settlement with NewYork-Presbyterian, a spokesperson for the medical system vowed to never let what Robert Hadden did happen to another patient again," said Adam Slater, Founding and Managing Partner of Slater Slater Schulman LLP. "Less than two years later, my firm is filing another lawsuit against the same hospital system for employing yet another predatory doctor. It's obvious that the failure to protect patients wasn't isolated, but systemic. Due to the present case and Dr. Cheng's pending criminal case in Queens, there is every reason to believe that he sexually assaulted other patients and people with whom he came into contact. We encourage those survivors to come forward to help us hold the institutions that enabled this abuse accountable."

According to allegations made in the complaint filed late yesterday, Dr. Cheng was employed by NewYork-Presbyterian between July 2020 and December 2022. On June 18, 2021, a 19-year-old woman who is a resident of Queens – who goes by "Jane Doe" to protect her identity – was admitted to the emergency room with severe abdominal pain caused by gallstones. Two days later, on June 20, 2021, Dr. Cheng examined the victim without any other staff present, performing an invasive and unnecessary rectal examination under the guise of medical treatment.

Later that same evening, Dr. Cheng used an employee identification tag to unlock a door to the stairwell near the plaintiff's room. He entered it alone and injected an unknown drug or substance into an IV in the plaintiff's arm, according to the complaint. She quickly lost consciousness and he proceeded to sexually assault her. She was informed more than a year later by law enforcement that Dr. Cheng possessed a video recording of the assault.

In June 2021, the plaintiff notified hospital employees that an Asian male doctor had entered her room and gave her a painful injection that caused her to lose consciousness. She stated that this person was the same doctor who had seen her earlier in the day. This prompted hospital employees to conduct a lineup of male employees and ask the plaintiff to identify who gave her the injection. The patient immediately identified Dr. Cheng. The hospital made no notes about the lineup in medical records, did not notify police and failed to suspend or terminate Dr. Cheng. Further, the hospital did not collect any forensic evidence, including robe or bedsheets, did not test the plaintiff's blood to determine what she was injected with, or offer her sufficient and timely support services.

Unbelievably, on June 22, 2021 – after the hospital conducted the lineup and knew that Dr. Cheng had sexually assaulted the plaintiff – records indicate that he provided medical treatment and care to her while she was under sedation during surgery.

Separately, in mid-December 2022, a woman with whom Cheng had a voluntary intimate relationship inadvertently discovered videos of the defendant chemically sedating and sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions. She notified the NYPD, and Cheng was arrested on December 27, 2022. When his other electronic devices were searched, videos of additional sexual assaults were found, including the assault on the plaintiff in her hospital room in June of 2021.

On December 30, 2022, Cheng was indicted by a grand jury in Queens County, where he was charged with Rape in the First Degree, a class B felony; Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, a class B felony; Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, a class D felony; Assault in the Second Degree, a class D felony; and Unlawful Surveillance in the Second Degree, a class E felony. The criminal case remains open and pending.

Due to Dr. Cheng's modus operandi of sedating his victims with drugs to render them helpless, as well as his habit of videotaping himself committing sexual assaults, there is a very strong reason to believe that there may be additional victims of Dr. Cheng. Any other patients are encouraged to come forward by calling 888.808.2344. A resident of Astoria, Dr. Cheng attended Albany Medical College within the Albany Med Health System, working at Albany Medical Center, before attending his Internal Medicine residency at California Pacific Medical Center, where he was affiliated with the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Former patients of Dr. Cheng in California will be connected with attorneys in Slater Slater Schulman's California office.

NOTE: Survivors of sexual abuse need to understand that the sexual abuse was not their fault. Help is available. In addition to the legal resources above, individuals seeking to be linked to resources for sexual assault survivors can call 800.656.HOPE (4673) to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area. The National Sexual Assault Hotline operated by RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) provides confidential support from trained staff members and can assist with finding local healthcare resources, help talk through what happened, and offer referrals for long-term support.

ABOUT LIAKAS LAW
Liakas Law, P.C., is a dynamic litigation and personal injury practice with offices in New York City and New Jersey. As a family run legal practice, our lawyers are committed to guiding accident victims and their families through the complex litigation process to obtain full compensation after a serious or fatal accident.

ABOUT SLATER SLATER SCHULMAN LLP
Slater Slater Schulman LLP is a prominent full-service law firm with over 40 years of experience representing survivors of catastrophic and traumatic events. Our nationally renowned attorneys are committed to ensuring the best results for our clients through persistence and zealous representation. With 10 offices in 9 states, we have achieved successful resolutions in some of the most challenging cases in the industry, including complex historical sexual abuse cases involving massive institutions, including academic, religious, and youth organizations. Our firm also has been recognized for its efforts representing clients in pharmaceutical drug litigation, product liability litigation, environmental litigation, employment and labor law, medical malpractice, and personal injury, and has successfully represented thousands of World Trade Center survivors to receive compensation for their injuries. Learn more at sssfirm.com.

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SOURCE Slater Slater Schulman LLP