In August of 2024, fifteen women filed a civil lawsuit alleging that Dr. John Carl Hoefs of Irvine, California, coerced them to expose their breasts and groped them under the guise of legitimate medical treatment while examining them for conditions related to their liver while working at Hoag Hospital. The lawsuit also names Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian and the Regents of the University of California system, which Hoefs was affiliated with during the time the abuse allegedly occurred. Hoefs is also affiliated with UCI Medical Center and the Liver Specialty Center in Irvine. He also had his own leased office at 16305 Sand Canyon Ave in Irvine, CA. The abuse dates of alleged abuse range from 2006 and continued until Hoefs was arrested.
According to media reports, Dr. Hoefs, 79, was arrested on May 3, 2024, for groping at least two patients multiple times at a Hoag-affiliated medical office in Irvine. Since then, light has been shed, and he has been charged with 17 felony counts of sexual battery by fraud and three felony counts of sexual battery. Hoefs has been a hepatologist - a liver specialist for decades and these women were seeking lifesaving medical treatment. Irvine police began investigating the doctor in October 2022 after they received a report from a woman who alleged Hoefs touched her breasts at nearly every appointment she'd had with him over the course of two years, according to a police report obtained by The Times. The police report also showed that several women had made similar complaints about Hoefs. One woman wrote on Yelp that the doctor "grabbed my breasts during an exam, and he told me I wasn't going to live long enough to raise my then 2-year-old son - my [s]on is now 28!"
New media reports say that the new civil lawsuit states that several women have complained about Dr. John Hoefs to his office and the California Medical Board, but Hoefs was allowed to continue working until his arrest. The lawyers representing the victims reported that "Hoag and the Regents knew and certainly should have known that Hoefs posed a risk of sexual abuse to patients ... as early as 2017 when complaints of such abuse were made to the California Medical Board, as well as numerous complaints posted onto multiple public online forums," the lawsuit states.
According to the civil lawsuit, one woman who sought treatment from Hoefs in 2016 and 2017 said he required her to remove all of her clothing from the waist up during exams and fondled her breasts without wearing gloves; she became suspicious after this happened at several appointments and reported the conduct to the state medical board in October 2017.
- Another woman reported that she had shown Hoefs a photo of a bruise she had to seek his medical opinion during a visit to his office. According to the lawsuit, he responded that he "did not have time to look at photographs unless they were of her in a bikini."
- Another woman alleges Hoefs manipulated her breasts with his ungloved fingers, claiming to be "feeling for her liver."
- And yet another woman said she was being treated for breast cancer and was referred to Dr. Hoefs by her oncologist due to her life-threatening diagnosis. During medical examinations, Hoefs allegedly tugged at her gown aggressively, forcing it open to expose her breasts.
Hoefs' hospital privileges and access to his leased office were suspended immediately after his arrest in May. The California Medical Board also suspended Hoefs' medical license and forbade any contact with former or prospective patients. However, the board permitted Hoefs to continue working as medical director for Hepatiq Inc., a medical diagnostic software corporation. The Orange County District Attorney's Office is looking for potential victims of an Irvine doctor charged with groping patients during medical examinations.
Horowitz Law has filed numerous sexual misconduct claims against medical professionals on behalf of patients who were inappropriately touched in their care. Under no circumstances is a doctor or nurse permitted to have sexual contact with a patient. If you have been a victim of sexual assault or sexual battery at a medical office or facility, or if you know someone who has, please contact our law firm at 888-283-9922 or send an e-mail to sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz at adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com for a free consultation.