919 854 4454
800 350 7574
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 30303
Raleigh, NC 27622
Street Address ( Map )
1500 Sunday Drive, Suite 208
Raleigh, NC 27607
Send us a message
Jury finds in favor of patients
Craig Jarvis, Staff Writer
RALEIGH - A Wake County jury found Thursday that six female patients of a former Cary physician were harmed by his unwanted sexual advances, and awarded them a total of $1.2 million.
The compensatory damages are just the beginning: A new trial with another jury next month will decide whether punitive damages are warranted against Dr. Wallace Evans, a retired family-practice doctor.
Nine other women's lawsuits are also waiting in the wings to either settle or go to trial, depending on the outcome of this litigation.
The civil trial, which began more than two months ago, dealt with controversial issues about doctor-patient relationships, sexual harassment and managed health care. The trial also raised the question of whether the prominent doctor's connections kept the medical community from intervening in misconduct that had gone on for years.
Evans' defense team portrayed the accusations as similar to cases involving Edenton's Little Rascals Day Care Center or Los Angeles' McMartin Preschool; in those cases, large numbers of victims were later discredited. Defense-team members said Evans' former patients were simply out to cash in on an unfounded malpractice lawsuit.
The defense attorneys admitted that Evans, 53, was a little quirky but said he was more like Patch Adams, the hippie doctor whose use of humor was depicted in a recent movie. The women's attorneys described Evans as a sexual predator who took advantage of vulnerable patients only.
The women came forward in 1995 and claimed that Evans had fondled them or made unwanted sexual remarks. They said he used crude slang in reference to their bodies, and made inappropriate comments during pelvic exams, such as: "Is it as good for you as it is for me?"
He admitted having an affair with one of his former patients, who said Evans confided that he had fantasies about having sex with patients while he appeared to be working.
Eventually, 18 women sued him over those accusations and others, such as failing to refer them to specialists. Three women dropped out, and the judge selected these six cases to go to trial first.
Although the verdict was a victory for the plaintiffs - because the jury voted in favor of all six women - the amount the jury awarded fell short of what the plaintiffs had sought. Each of the women wanted at least $300,000.
The jury awarded only one of the women that much. Three were awarded $150,000 each, one received $200,000 and another $250,000. Plaintiffs' attorneys Elizabeth Kuniholm and Toni Benham said they were happy with the outcome.
"We're pleased the jury held Dr. Evans responsible for what he did and how he harmed these women," Kuniholm said. "These - I can only call them brave women - look forward to the second phase of the trial."
When word came that the jury had arrived at a verdict only minutes after returning from a morning break, the six women sat together in the front row holding hands. Some cried with relief when the verdict was announced.
Evans did not betray any emotion, and left the courtroom after his attorneys met with jurors who agreed to talk about the case with both sides. He paused to comment briefly to a TV cameraman.
"I gave them the best care I could," he said.
Lead defense attorney Dan McLamb commented later, "We're obviously disappointed for Dr. Evans." Jurors refused to talk with reporters. Several jurors briskly acknowledged the women's thanks as they left the courtroom; one said, "We just tried to be fair." Others mingled with the women and discussed the long trial.
The women's attorneys would not let them talk with reporters because the case is still pending.
The award could increase the likelihood of a settlement. But that would be complex, because several corporate entities associated with Evans' former practice, as well as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, are defendants in the next phase of the trial.
The coming trial will determine whether Evans will have to pay punitive damages, and whether the other defendants will have to share in the compensatory and any punitive damages for these six women. All that could change depending on how Judge Henry Hight, Jr. rules on pending motions to dismiss claims against the other defendants.
Those issues are crucial to determining who eventually has to pay the women. Evans is covered by an insurance policy, but how much and whether the insurer should pay is in dispute.
Evans' malpractice insurance company, NC Medical Mutual, is claiming that it doesn't have to pay any damages. The firm has argued in court filings that, if he did engage in sexual misconduct, he was acting outside the scope of his covered duties.
Medical Mutual's liability won't be determined until the six women's case is resolved. In 1995, the company had to cover a $2 million verdict against Evans for failing to diagnose a Wake County man's cancer.
The size of Thursday's verdict is not remarkable given the fact there were 41 awards and settlements that surpassed the $1 million mark in North Carolina in 1998. However, this is only a portion of the final recovery in the case.
Even so, it already ranks among the higher medical malpractice recoveries. The case is unusual in that it was more of a sexual harassment action than malpractice. There is no civil sexual harassment statute in this state.
When compared with other sexual harassment-type cases, the Evans verdict may turn out to be one of the highest. In 1997, a Wake County jury awarded compensatory and punitive damages totaling $420,000 to two women who sued a Cary minister over unwanted hugs and kisses.
© 1999 by The News & Observer Pub. Co. Reprinted with permission of The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina. Reproduction does not imply endorsement.