Woman sues physician she accused of indecently assaulting her
May 3—A woman who alleged a Scranton allergist inappropriately touched her filed a lawsuit against the physician and the medical practice that employed him.
The suit, filed in Lackawanna County Court, alleges Dr. Joel Laury groped the woman, a college student who was shadowing him, purportedly to teach her how to conduct a physical examination. The woman is identified only by her initials.
The allegations mirror claims contained in criminal charges filed against Laury in June 2018, after the woman reported the incident to police. A second female later came forward and made similar allegations that Laury indecently assaulted her in 2017.
The cases went to trial in October. A jury found Laury not guilty of the three counts of indecent assault, but deadlocked on one count of indecent exposure.
Facing retrial on that charge, Laury pleaded guilty in December to one count of open lewdness and two counts of harassment, one of which also stemmed from allegations he touched a 13-year-old patient between her legs during a 2017 examination. He was sentenced in January to six to 18 months in Lackawanna County prison. He was released last month to home confinement while he appeals the sentence to the state Superior Court.
The lawsuit, filed by Scranton attorney Larry Moran Sr., alleges Laury invited his client, who was studying to be a physician assistant, to shadow him as he treated patients at Horizon Medical Corp. in Scranton on June 21, 2018.
At some point, Laury took the woman into an exam room and locked the door. He directed the woman to sit on an exam table and, while dressed only in his underwear, touched her near her groin area and beneath her breasts, purportedly to show her how to check for enlarged lymph nodes.
The lawsuit alleges Laury abused his position of power and authority to convince the woman to acquiesce to the teaching methods, which were "woefully incompetent, inappropriate and overly intrusive."
His conduct shocked and humiliated the woman, causing lasting emotional harm, the suit says.
The suit seeks damages from Laury and Horizon Medical Corp., which Moran contends knew or should have known of Laury's inappropriate conduct. Attempts to reach Laury and Horizon Medical for comment were unsuccessful.
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