Former Cedars-Sinai Medical Center obstetrician-gynecologist Barry J. Brock has surrendered his medical license following an accusation of negligent care from the state medical board.
Brock, 75, signed an agreement late last month to give up the license he has held since 1978, rather than contest an accusation the Medical Board of California filed in September regarding a former patient’s treatment. The surrender took effect on Wednesday.
While Brock “doesn’t admit any factual allegations,” his attorney Tracy Green said, he elected to surrender his license rather than invest time and money into a hearing.
Under the terms of the agreement, Brock is barred from legally practicing medicine in California for the rest of his life.
Brock retired from medicine in August. Since then, at least 176 women have filed lawsuits alleging that Cedars-Sinai and other facilities where Brock worked knowingly concealed his sexual abuses and misconduct, including medically unjustifiable procedures that at times resulted in lasting physical complications.
Brock has denied all allegations of impropriety. The OB-GYN was a member of the Cedars-Sinai physician network until 2018 and retained his clinical privileges there until mid-2024.
Cedars-Sinai confirmed in July that it suspended Brock’s hospital privileges after receiving “concerning complaints” from former patients. His privileges were terminated a few months later.
“The type of behavior alleged about Dr. Barry Brock is counter to Cedars-Sinai’s core values and the trust we strive to earn every day with our patients,” the medical center said in a statement. “We recognize the legal process must now take its course, and we remain committed to Cedars-Sinai’s sacred healing mission.”
The accusation that led to the surrender of his license focused on a patient who sought treatment in 2018 for a blighted ovum, a form of miscarriage in which the fertilized egg fails to develop into an embryo.
According to the complaint, the patient reported to Brock’s office in September 2018 for a dilation and curettage to remove remaining tissues from her uterus.
Brock ordered the patient to undress in front of him, the complaint stated, and didn’t wear gloves during the procedure, which was done without a chaperone present.
The patient experienced severe pain during the visit and bled for two months afterward, the complaint said, and no follow-up care was provided. When she visited a physician’s assistant in November 2018, the complaint said, she learned that Brock had failed to complete the dilation and curettage successfully, and she had to undergo the process a second time to remove the remaining tissue.
The complaint alleged that Brock didn’t administer sufficient pain medication and failed to properly complete the procedure or follow up with pathology findings.
While Brock’s license surrender resolves this accusation, he still faces the civil lawsuits.
Suits were filed on behalf of 167 women last year, and nine more women sued the former physician earlier this month, alleging that Brock groped their breasts and genitals inappropriately during appointments, often with bare hands, and made sexually harassing comments.
“This is why these civil lawsuits and these women coming forward … are so, so important. He can’t avoid this,” said Lisa Esser, an attorney representing the nine plaintiffs. “He’s going to be held accountable.”
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