Ireneparalegal
08-31-2005, 11:16 AM
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
State investigates doctor accused of racial remark to obese woman
By J.M. HIRSCH
Associated Press Writer
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The state is investigating a physician accused of telling a patient she was so obese she might only be attractive to black men and advising another to shoot herself following brain surgery.
"Let's face it, if your husband were to die tomorrow, who would want you?" the state Board of Medicine says Dr. Terry Bennett told the overweight patient in June 2004.
"Well, men might want you, but not the types you want to want you. Might even be a black guy," it quoted him as saying, based on the woman's complaint.
The board said it also is taking a second look at a 2001 allegation — deemed unfounded at the time — that Bennett told a woman recovering from brain surgery to buy a pistol and shoot herself to end her suffering.
Bennett made national news last week when the complaint from the obese woman became public without any mention of the racial comment. But Senior Assistant Attorney General Richard Head, who leads the state Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau, said Tuesday the woman complained about the racial remark, not about being lectured.
In a telephone interview Tuesday from Rochester, Bennett defended his message to her, saying he has read polls that say black men prefer overweight women.
Bennett, who treated members of the bin Laden family while practicing in Saudi Arabia from 1974 to 1981, denied wrongdoing Tuesday. He also said he is angry the board is reconsidering the 2001 complaint.
"That patient is currently in a nursing home completely demented, tied to a chair drooling on herself and doesn't recognize anybody," said Bennett, 67. "She was in pretty nearly that condition at the time she filed that complaint."
As for the obese woman, Bennett said he gives the same — admittedly harsh — lecture to every obese female patient, and feels it would be bad medicine not to. He said he is sorry the woman was offended, but that he has apologized.
Charles Douglas, Bennett's lawyer, said his client is being attacked by the board, which, by its own rules, does not discipline doctors for bedside manner. "If a patient does not like the message, go to another doctor," Douglas said.
Head said the 2001 complaint is being considered as part of a review of Bennett's overall adherence to medical ethics. Head's office investigates complaints against doctors, though the board decides how to act on them.
Head said privacy laws prevent him from saying whether Bennett faced other complaints prior to 2001. Privacy rules also prevent the board from disclosing the women's names.
The board can do nothing or fine, reprimand or suspend doctors. It also can revoke doctors' licenses or require them to attend classes or treatment, such as when substance abuse is a factor.
Earlier this year, Bennett rejected an effort by the board to resolve the latest complaint. The board wanted him to admit he had made a mistake and to attend a class on medical ethics, which he called "touchy feely school."
Bennett previously was cited by the board in 1995, when, as part of a settlement to avoid discipline, he admitted lying on his 1992 and 1993 medical license renewal applications about being denied hospital privileges. He was fined $1,000.
Bennett also was in the news last year when the Harvard alumnus led a campaign urging classmates to withhold donations to the school. He was upset at news the school paid millions to the managers of its endowment fund.
State investigates doctor accused of racial remark to obese woman
By J.M. HIRSCH
Associated Press Writer
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The state is investigating a physician accused of telling a patient she was so obese she might only be attractive to black men and advising another to shoot herself following brain surgery.
"Let's face it, if your husband were to die tomorrow, who would want you?" the state Board of Medicine says Dr. Terry Bennett told the overweight patient in June 2004.
"Well, men might want you, but not the types you want to want you. Might even be a black guy," it quoted him as saying, based on the woman's complaint.
The board said it also is taking a second look at a 2001 allegation — deemed unfounded at the time — that Bennett told a woman recovering from brain surgery to buy a pistol and shoot herself to end her suffering.
Bennett made national news last week when the complaint from the obese woman became public without any mention of the racial comment. But Senior Assistant Attorney General Richard Head, who leads the state Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau, said Tuesday the woman complained about the racial remark, not about being lectured.
In a telephone interview Tuesday from Rochester, Bennett defended his message to her, saying he has read polls that say black men prefer overweight women.
Bennett, who treated members of the bin Laden family while practicing in Saudi Arabia from 1974 to 1981, denied wrongdoing Tuesday. He also said he is angry the board is reconsidering the 2001 complaint.
"That patient is currently in a nursing home completely demented, tied to a chair drooling on herself and doesn't recognize anybody," said Bennett, 67. "She was in pretty nearly that condition at the time she filed that complaint."
As for the obese woman, Bennett said he gives the same — admittedly harsh — lecture to every obese female patient, and feels it would be bad medicine not to. He said he is sorry the woman was offended, but that he has apologized.
Charles Douglas, Bennett's lawyer, said his client is being attacked by the board, which, by its own rules, does not discipline doctors for bedside manner. "If a patient does not like the message, go to another doctor," Douglas said.
Head said the 2001 complaint is being considered as part of a review of Bennett's overall adherence to medical ethics. Head's office investigates complaints against doctors, though the board decides how to act on them.
Head said privacy laws prevent him from saying whether Bennett faced other complaints prior to 2001. Privacy rules also prevent the board from disclosing the women's names.
The board can do nothing or fine, reprimand or suspend doctors. It also can revoke doctors' licenses or require them to attend classes or treatment, such as when substance abuse is a factor.
Earlier this year, Bennett rejected an effort by the board to resolve the latest complaint. The board wanted him to admit he had made a mistake and to attend a class on medical ethics, which he called "touchy feely school."
Bennett previously was cited by the board in 1995, when, as part of a settlement to avoid discipline, he admitted lying on his 1992 and 1993 medical license renewal applications about being denied hospital privileges. He was fined $1,000.
Bennett also was in the news last year when the Harvard alumnus led a campaign urging classmates to withhold donations to the school. He was upset at news the school paid millions to the managers of its endowment fund.