Surgery resident fabricated story about sexual assault by gun-toting surgeon, LA County says
Melani Cargle alleged on Twitter that she witnessed the surgeon sexually assault a male in 2019 at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and has since raised $40,000 on GoFundMe for her legal defense.
Los Angeles County officials on Wednesday cast doubt on claims from a doctor-in-training who alleges she was fired for reporting a gun-toting surgeon who sexually assaulted an unconscious male patient inside a Harbor-UCLA Medical Center operating room in 2019.
Melani Cargle, an orthopedic surgery resident at County-USC Medical Center, has raised more than $40,000 on GoFundMe for her legal defense since she took to Twitter on June 6 to detail her allegations.
“As a UCLA medical student I was forced to watch my supervising surgeon at Harbor-UCLA sexually assault his unconscious, anesthetized Black male patient while carrying a loaded semi-automatic weapon concealed on his waist,” she wrote in the post. “I silently wept the entire surgery.”
In a separate post on June 10, Cargle wrote an anonymous report about the sexual assault, but the surgeon identified her as the whistleblower and Harbor-UCLA refused to investigate.
To be clear: I authored an “anonymous” report about the sexual assault/gun. But after reading the details of my claim, the surgeon was able to ID me as the whistleblower. The hospital was made aware but chose not to investigate, despite previous reports of his sexual misconduct. https://t.co/afk1DvLkG4
— Melani Cargle, MD, MBA | she/her (@DrCargle) June 10, 2022
In another June 10 tweet, Cargle said was being fired from her LAC-USC residency, leaving her without any income or health insurance and more than $500,000 in student loans.
I’m being terminated from my LAC+USC Orthopaedic surgery residency. So no income, no health insurance, no way to complete a residency b/c no support from my PD/Chair. And over half a million in student loans. @CountyofLA @USC @AAOSAdvocacy #WhistleblowerRetaliation
— Melani Cargle, MD, MBA | she/her (@DrCargle) June 10, 2022
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, which oversees four hospitals, including Harbor-UCLA and USC medical centers, said Wednesday that Cargle’s claims are “patently false” but it is still investigating the allegations in the interest of patient safety.
“Neither Harbor-UCLA Medical Center nor DHS has any record of a complaint, anonymous or otherwise, that matches Cargle’s claim about the alleged sexual assault she said she witnessed in 2019 while she was on medical student rotations at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center,” the statement said. “DHS has zero-tolerance for retaliation against anyone who raises a concern, makes a report, or cooperates in an investigation about misconduct.”
Additionally, Cargle has not been fired for the operating room allegation at Harbor-UCLA in unincorporated West Carson, but is facing termination for her conduct with a patient and staff at USC Medical Center near downtown L.A., DHS said, declining to elaborate.
“There is simply no connection between Cargle’s position in the residency program at LAC-USC Medical Center at present and anything she alleges took place in 2019 at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center where she was on medical student rotations,” the statement said.
In a June 5 tweet, Cargle said she was being terminated for being “unprofessional” toward a patient but did not mention the alleged sexual assault.
Imagine having your life threatened by a patient. Terrifying. Now imagine hospital admin terminating you for being ‘unprofessional’ because you didn’t use your inside voice when *yelling* out for security. More terrifying.
https://t.co/fDaSY7Rp7q
— Melani Cargle, MD, MBA | she/her (@DrCargle) June 5, 2022
Cargle could not be reached for comment Wednesday regarding her allegations or the DHS statement.
DHS officials also said they want to “set the record straight” regarding Cargle’s claim of a Harbor-UCLA surgeon packing a semi-automatic weapon in an operating room.
“Staff at all DHS medical centers are not allowed to carry weapons or have weapons on a medical campus,” the statement said. “Limited exceptions to bring a weapon onto a medical campus have previously been made in the case of physicians who also serve as reserve deputies.”
Reserve deputy physicians are part of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s team and are fully trained to perform law enforcement functions and provide life-saving support, DHS said,
“Reserve deputy physicians at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center must follow strict safety policies, including proper storage of their handgun in a locked safe box while on medical center premises,” the statement said. “They would not have a firearm on their person during a surgical procedure.”
DHS said operating rooms at its hospitals are “high-activity medical hubs” where an array of staff is present, including technicians, nurses and surgeons, and where patients under anesthesia are never left alone.
“We are proud of our dedicated team — from physicians and nurses, to interns and residents, to our entire clinical support teams —who go above and beyond to provide world-class care,” the statement said.