RICHMOND, Va. -- The jury is deliberating in the civil trial against Cumberland Hospital and its former medical director.
Forty-six former patients are suing the New Kent facility and Dr. Daniel Davidow for $930 million. Each plaintiff is asking for $20 million plus damages.
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The former patients in this first trial claim Dr. Davidow inappropriately touched them during femoral pulse exams.
The plaintiffs’ attorney Kevin Biniazan made the final rebuttal closing arguments. He said, “It takes a village to abuse a child. Cumberland was that village.”
He told jurors to consider what message a favorable verdict for his clients would send. A message he said of, we hear you, we believe in your future, you can trust this world, you can trust this system again.
Biniazan also began closing arguments Thursday. He reminded the jurors that in a civil case, allegations do not need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Rather, there only needs to be a preponderance of evidence.
He later went through multiple complaints made against Dr. Davidow dating back to 2010 and listed other accusers. Biniazan said, “One victim is a problem, two is a pattern, three is pervasive, and four is a pandemic."
Biniazan pointed out that Dr. Davidow never documented the need to do femoral pulse checks in his notes. He alleged it was a guise to assault young women.
Biniazan pointed out to the jury that after he was done questioning Davidow, he asked Biniazan, “How about the questions about how many vaginas I’ve touched?” Biniazan told jurors Davidow couldn’t help himself then just like he couldn't help himself with the former patients.
Biniazan said what bothers him having worked on this case for years is this concept that “It’s just a touch. With a touch, he took it all away. It has changed the trajectory of these girls' lives. Cumberland has detoured these girls into a swamp.”
Biniazan asked the jurors to punish their conduct and how they treated them and send the girls a message that they are worth more than they are asking. He asked the jurors to do the right thing.
In closing, Dr. Davidow’s attorney Bob Donnelly said these patients needed to cope with other issues they had before their admissions at Cumberland and that they needed a physician like Davidow.
He said it was in Dr. Davidow’s DNA to care for patients like the plaintiffs and said the physical exams Davidow performed, including the checking of the femoral pulse, were for legitimate medical reasons and that it was not sexual abuse even if it was disturbing for some.
He said, “You use innuendo to turn it into sexual abuse.”
Donnelly told the jurors he asked Davidow if he was getting complaints, then why he didn't stop doing the femoral pulse checks. Donnelly explained that Davidow had done up to 4,000 exams in his career and he said the vast majority had not complained.
Donnelly said he’s not sure why the plaintiffs have latched onto Davidow using adjectives like “attractive” to describe patients in his medical notes. Donnelly said, that’s “cynicism and innuendo” and it doesn’t make him a predator. He said don’t take the bait, and look at the evidence. He said, “The mind goes where the hand didn’t.”
Donnelly picked apart plaintiffs’ testimony and challenged their credibility against Dr. Davidow’s medical notes.
Donnelly told jurors Davidow in no way, shape, or form abused the patients and asked them to check “no” on their verdict forms.
Cumberland attorney Joe Farchione began by telling the jury that they were a dual diagnosis hospital that is annually inspected by both the state and private insurers. He said they monitor what they are doing and they haven’t found any citations.
He said per diem pay is not fraud, and that Dr. Davidow was billed separately.
He challenged testimony that a chaperone would be looking at a wall rather than monitoring Dr. Davidow while performing an exam. He asked the jury if that made common sense.
Farchione challenged some of the plaintiffs’ accusers by showing other parts of reports related to the alleged incidents and accused the other side of not showing the full story. He went through the records of seven former patients.
Farchione read from an accuser’s medical record and talked about the former patient’s medical instability and her mother’s appreciation for what Davidow was doing for her daughter.
Farchione said, being uncomfortable does not equate to sexual abuse without more.
Farchione took the jury through the plaintiffs’ “road to Cumberland.” For example, plaintiff AE did not like to be touched even before being admitted to the hospital, he said.
Farchione said all claims were unfounded. “That speaks volumes,” he said.
Plaintiff HB broke down in court when Farchione began speaking about her in his closing arguments. She was consoled by plaintiff AE. Farchione said, “This is tragic.” However, he made clear it was not because of Cumberland or Dr. Davidow.
On Friday, Judge Bradley Cavedo reminded the jury that Cumberland Hospital concealed or destroyed evidence of billing practices, including admitting diagnosis. He said that was unfavorable.
One man and six women make up the jury.
If the jury finds in favor of the plaintiffs and awards damages, and if they find that the defendant's actions were willful, under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act they have the option to triple those damages.
Dr. Davidow was found not guilty of felony sex abuse charges involving two other former Cumberland patients in New Kent County back in April.
CBS 6 investigative reporter Laura French has been covering this case for the last five years. She’s in the courtroom.
For live updates follow her on X, @lfrenchnews.
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