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University of New Brunswick sexual assault class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: A former University of New Brunswick student seeks class certification for a complaint filed against the university and psychiatrist Dr. Manoj Bhargava over sexual assault allegations.
- Why: The former student claims the university failed to protect her from being sexually assaulted during psychiatric appointments conducted at UNB’s Student Health Centre.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in the Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick.
A former University of New Brunswick student seeks class certification for a class action lawsuit filed against the university and psychiatrist Dr. Manoj Bhargava over sexual assault claims.
Plaintiff Morgan Wilcox filed a class action lawsuit against UNB and Bhargava in April of last year over claims the latter sexually assaulted her during psychiatric exams at the Student Health Centre and that the university failed to protect her, CBC reports.
A total of 14 other former students have since contacted Wilcox’s lawyer with allegations of sexually assault during psychiatric exams conducted by Bhargava.
The former students claim Bhargava inappropriately touched their breasts and chest while performing heart rate or blood pressure checks, CBC reports.
Wilcox claims Bhargava prescribed her medication that he told her had dangerous side effects to justify doing heart rate checks — which she says lasted from five to 10 minutes and were not done in the presence of a nurse, according to the University of New Brunswick class action.
Further, Wilcox claims Bhargava began asking her to bring looser clothing to her psychiatric exams and to not wear a bra so he could check her heart rate, CBC reports.
Bhargava denies sexual assault allegations presented in University of New Brunswick class action
Bhargava denied the allegations in a statement of defence last year in which he argued that he always followed “good and approved medical practice.”
The psychiatrist also argued that he was not an actual employee of UNB but rather an independent contractor with the university and that his contract was terminated in November 2020, CBC reports.
Bhargava’s licence to practice has been suspended by the College of Physicians and Surgeons, an event which the CBC reports came before his termination from UNB and Wilcox’s complaint.
UNB has received a total of 18 complaints against Bhargava, with the majority coming from students of the university, CBC reports.
If you or a loved one was sexually abused or assaulted at church, school or daycare or while participating in a youth program, you may be able to participate in a lawsuit investigation.
The plaintiff is represented by Michael Dull of Valent Legal and Erika Hachey of Moss Hachey Law.
The University of New Brunswick class action lawsuit is Wilcox v. Bhargava, et al., Case No. FC-120-21, in the Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick.
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