A woman who was inappropriately touched by an area doctor filed a lawsuit Wednesday afternoon against the doctor and Auburn Memorial Hospital.

June Datena, whose breast was touched while she was under anesthesia for a cesarean section, seeks a non-specific sum of money for punitive damages from both AMH and Dr. Harjyot Deol. Deol admitted last year to touching her breast in November 2003 during the surgery at the hospital.

The complaint alleges that Deol negligently departed from the standard of care of a physician when he touched Datena's breast without her permission.

The suit also says AMH was negligent in its failure to inform Datena of his actions.

In 2004, state health officials investigated AMH for its handling of a complaint concerning the incident and found that medical director Dr. Frank P. LoTurco only interviewed Deol and Datena's obstetrician, Dr. Kenneth Palmer, about the incident.

Deol took a course addressing sexual behavior and sexual harassment, was monitored for six months and a letter of reprimand was placed in his file following the incident.

However, Datena was not made aware of the incident until she was interviewed by

Cayuga County District Attorney James Vargason as part of an investigation of Deol.

Deol pleaded guilty in Cayuga County Court in May 2006 to a second-degree harassment violation for his actions. He was sentenced to 50 hours of community service. The plea was negotiated from the original misdemeanor charge of forcible touching.

Finger Lakes Anesthesia Group, the medical group with whom Deol worked between 1995 and 2005, is also part of the suit. The group disbanded in June 2005.

In a 2006 interview with The Citizen, Deol claimed that there was nothing sexual motivating his actions. He said he briefly lifted Datena's left breast to check for scarring from a past surgery because he was “clinically curious,” since a relative of his needed to undergo reconstructive surgery.

Deol could not be reached for comment Wednesday, and a person who answered the phone at his listed residence said he was out of town.

Datena's attorney, Simon Moody, said his client was “horrified” when she found out about the incident so far after the fact.

“Obviously, the doctor is most liable in this situation,” Moody said. “But we contend that he hospital exacerbated the conduct of the doctor by failing to adequately respond and failing to inform the patient.”

Roz McCormick, vice president of patient care at AMH, could not comment on Deol or the case Wednesday and said she had not yet been made aware of the lawsuit. But McCormick added that it is common to include the hospital of employment in a case against a doctor.

Deol's last day working with AMH was Jan 30, 2006, after which his contract with the hospital through Sterling Healthcare, a health care recruitment company, expired.

Deol's medical license was suspended in May by the New York State Board of Medical Conduct for the incident involving Datena as well as two other instances involving gross negligence and incompetent care. In November, 2004, he was cited for failing to provide adequate ventilation and oxygenation for a patient which resulted in a drastic drop in heart rate.

In October of the same year, Deol was cited for giving an excessive dose of an intravenous anesthetic to an 87-year-old woman at Auburn Memorial Hospital. The three-year suspension was stayed under the conditions that he underwent clinical competency assessment and was monitored by another physician.

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.