Lawsuit accuses former Winnipeg doctor of sex abuse

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This article was published 13/02/2023 (962 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A patient is suing her former doctor and the Winnipeg clinic he worked at, alleging sexual abuse during medical appointments.

Shamoon Hasham Din is no longer practising in Manitoba. His medical licence was revoked in June 2022, after the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba found Din engaged in two separate instances of improper conduct with female patients.

According to a statement of claim filed in December, Din, now in his mid-40s and living in Ontario, is alleged to have sexually assaulted a patient, a “student” identified as M.R., at “several” appointments between August 2020 and March 2021, while practising at FamilyCare Medical Centre in Winnipeg.

Also named in the lawsuit are FamilyCare Medical Centre (191 Marion St.), Andy S. Dandekar Medical Corp. (Dandekar was Din’s practice supervisor), and 191 Marion Holdings Ltd.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Lawyers who previously represented Din did not respond to emailed requests for comment late Monday. The Free Press could not reach FamilyCare Medical Centre.

It does not appear a statement of defence has been filed.

The statement of claim says Din began treating M.R. in March 2020 for depression and anxiety. He prescribed her antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication.

According to the court documents, Din allegedly began calling her without invitation and sending texts “of a sexual nature.” At an appointment in August, Din “began to engage in sexual acts with the plaintiff, which included engaging in intercourse with the plaintiff in the examination room,” the claim says.

The alleged sexual abuse continued at “several” other appointments, the lawsuit says.

“The plaintiff says that she did not consent to, nor could she consent to, Din engaging in sexual acts with her or the sexual communications with her while he was her physician and prescribing her medications for mental health issues,” reads the statement of claim. “Accordingly, Din committed the torts of battery and assault in respect of his conduct of sexual abuse towards the plaintiff.”

M.R. says she did not know Din had restrictions on his medical licence at the time — including he could only treat female patients with a chaperone present.

In 2018, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba suspended Din’s licence for one year, after it found he was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a teen patient.

The college found Din sent her more than 1,000 “salacious and manifestly unprofessional and inappropriate” text messages and bought her expensive gifts. The girl ended up in hospital after she overdosed on anti-anxiety medication he had prescribed her.

When Din resumed his practice in 2019, the college required him to adhere to specific conditions: have a female chaperone present when treating female patients; post “conspicuous signage” about the chaperone requirement; not communicate with patients outside work; and have a practice supervisor report on Din’s compliance with the conditions.

According to the statement of claim, no chaperone was present when Din treated M.R.

The statement of claim says FamilyCare was “obliged” to ensure Din was complied with his conditions, but still knowingly left M.R. “alone in an examination room with Din.”

M.R. is seeking not-yet-determined general damages, as well as special, punitive and aggravated damages and legal costs.

Din lost his medical licence in June after the college found he breached undertakings, including treating female patients without a chaperone. The matter came to light in March 2021, when a female patient contacted the college about Din’s “inappropriate communications” with her over a six-month period in 2020-21.

The Free Press has been investigating the college’s handling of physician misconduct, and at the time Din’s licence was stripped, critics questioned why it took a patient coming forward to flag bad behaviour.

katrina.clarke@freepress.mb.ca