Psychotherapist accused of sexually assaulting court-referred patient

From the report on Michigan Live

A Flint-area psychotherapist is behind bars after authorities claim he sexually abused a patient who was referred to him by the court. Hugh McQuade of Burton was arraigned Wednesday, April 29, on 14 counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Authorities claim he coerced a Genesee County probationer into sex acts.

Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell said the 46-year-old victim was on probation following her conviction on a felony cocaine charge and was ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation. Pickell said the woman, who is not being named because she is the victim of an alleged sex crime, went to McQuade, who practiced at the Oakland Psychological Clinic, to fulfill the terms of her probation.

McQuade, 67, allegedly exposed his genitals to the woman while at the clinic, according to Pickell. The actions then allegedly evolved into groping and oral sex, the sheriff said. Pickell said he believes there were at least 14 separate incidents of inappropriate sexual contact between McQuade and the victim."She was forced into doing it," Pickell alleged.

Representatives from the clinic declined to comment on the case. The clinic's website lists McQuade as a staff member at its 2222 S. Linden Road location in Flint Township.

Pickell said his office became aware of the allegations after the victim was arrested for violating her probation by having a drug relapse. The sheriff said McQuade was arrested within two hours of the victim notifying his office of the incident. The victim is still in custody for the suspected probation violation.

A search warrant was executed and Pickell claimed his investigators discovered sexually explicit photos and videos involving McQuade and the victim. There was no attorney listed on file for McQuade.

The incident remains under investigation, and Pickell said he believes at least one other woman may have been victimized. "He's a wolf in sheep's clothing," Pickell said of McQuade. McQuade is held on $20,000 bond for each count. The charges carry a mandatory 15-year minimum prison sentence if convicted. Pickell said roughly half of McQuade's patients were court-referred.

[...]

The rest of the article was an attempt at damage control regarding court appointed psychotherapists.

Police seek assault charges against 16 Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital employees

A Reported on the Michigan Live website (much more at this link)

Related information here

Assault and battery charges are being sought against 16 employees of the Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital accused of abusing patients, according to Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley.

Hadley said the police have turned the case over the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor's Office last week.

Chief Assistant Prosecutor Carrie Klein said her office now needs to do its own investigation, which won't be completed until after the holidays.

"We have a tremendous amount of material to review," she said. "There's a tremendous amount of video."

She said it's unclear whether the employees could face misdemeanor or felony charges.

"It depends on what we find," she said.

Michigan's common law recognizes a duty of care to third parties who might foreseeably be harmed by a mental health professional's use of techniques that cause his or her patient to have false memories of sexual abuse.

As seen in this Michigan Appellate Court Decision [PDF]

In this suit for malpractice, plaintiffs L### R###### and J### R###### appeal by right the trial court’s order dismissing their claims against defendant, Kathryn Salmi, LPC, who does business as Salmi Christian Counseling. On appeal, we must determine whether a mental health professional, such as a licensed professional counselor, see MCL 330.1100b(16)(e); 333.18101(b),1 owes a duty of care to third persons who might be harmed by the professional’streatment of his or her patients. Specifically, we must determine whether a mental healthprofessional has a duty to third parties (specifically, a patient’s parents) who might foreseeably be implicated in abuse when the mental health professional treats a patient using techniques that cause his or her patient to have false memories of sexual abuse.

For the reasons more fully explained below, we conclude that Michigan’s common law recognizes a duty of care to third parties who might foreseeably be harmed by the mental health professional’s use of techniques that cause his or her patient to have false memories of sexual abuse. Because the trial court erred when it dismissed Lale and Joan Roberts’ claim on the grounds that Michigan does not recognizesuch a duty, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

Patient at heart of abuse allegations at Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital speaks out

As seen in this report from News Channel 3 in Kalamazoo, Michigan

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - We are learning more Wednesday night about a criminal investigation into 16 Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital employees.

Kalamazoo Public Safety is investigating 19 incidents of possible patient abuse, and all of them involve the same patient.

Wednesday, that patient and his family agreed to tell us their side of the story.

"Pretty much the whole time I was there, I was treated very poorly," said former KPH patient Michael Joseph Rowley, who spent two years at the hospital.

"They would constnatly provoke him into a fight," said his mother, Carla Rowley. "Then they would drag him into a room and beat him up and, you know, that's recorded."

Rowley and his parents told Newschannel 3 over the phone Wednesday afternoon that he has various disorders that make him violent and aggressive, and he also has at least three assault convictions.

We asked him if he ever assaulted employees at KPH.

"Well, to be honest, many times," he said, adding that he was provoked.

"They would tease me, they would bully me," Michael said.

But there was an incident with a resident care aid in June.

"He bent my arm way back and was smacking me around," Michael said. "My arm got broken in two spots."

That sparked the criminal investigation and 28 employee suspensions.

"The actions of the staff are probably prosecutable," said former KPH Interim Director Cynthia Kelly in an October interview with Newschannel 3.

In the course of that interview, Kelly told Newschannel 3 that staff reviewed hundreds of hours of surveillance as a part of their investigation.

"There are a few things that I viewed even just this morning that...restraint was used and it was completely uncalled for," she said.

Current and former employees say forced overtime, exhaustion, and irritation is a major factor.

"You go to work for your 8 hour shift, and you're told you have to stay 16, you have no choice," said an anonymous former employee in mid-September.

Records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show 236 resident care aids work at KPH.

Through October of this year alone, resident care aids were mandated to work double shifts 4,736 times.

The Department of Community Health hopes to hire a permanent director at KPH before the end of the year.

That person will be charged with reviewing all policies and safety concerns.

As for Michael Rowley, he says he was transferred to another psychiatric hospital on October 10, as the criminal investigation got underway.

DCH expects more information from Kalamazoo Public Safety regarding possible charges by mid-December.

Eleven more Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital employees have been suspended as part of an ongoing investigation

As seen in this report from WoodTV.com in Michigan

Eleven more Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital employees have been suspended as part of an ongoing investigation, the state says, and police are now investigating allegations of the assault of a patient.

A total of 28 workers have now been suspended with pay for “alleged violation of patient rights,” Michigan Department of Community Health spokeswoman Jennifer Smith told 24 Hour News 8 Thursday. That number is up from 17 on Oct. 9. The state has not released specifics surrounding the alleged violation or violations.

And the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety is investigating whether employees’ actions were criminal, Chief Jeff Hadley told 24 Hour News 8 Thursday. KDPS said its officers served a search warrant as part of an investigation into the possible assault of a patient.

Hadley said there were 19 alleged incidents involving 16 employees and only one patient. He said the incidents happened as long ago as June, but it’s unclear over how long a period of time they occurred. Hadley said the incidents were reported within the first two weeks of October.

MDCH says it is cooperating with the KDPS investigation.

The state’s Office of Recipient Rights is also investigating the allegations.

Smith also said the state is working to fill leadership positions at the facility that were vacated earlier this year in connection to allegations of neglect linked to the death of a patient. That case is separate from the recent suspensions.

Smith admitted to 24 Hour News 8 on Oct. 9 that there is a “culture problem” at the hospital, which employs around 500 people, that the state is working to fix. The acting director of the facility is working to educate employees, Smith said.

There is currently a hold on new admissions to the hospital. The admissions office is taking information for potential admittance and callers with questions are being referred to the acting director.

Child psychiatrist pleads guilty to sexual assault of young relative

A report from Grand Rapids, Michigan

A child psychiatrist has pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault involving a young relative.

Carlos Alberto Marcano, 59, of Byron Township, will be sentenced Sept. 24 in Kent County Circuit Court on counts of first-degree and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Police earlier said he had confessed to sex abuse that happened between 2005 and 2007.

He was a psychiatrist with Pine Christian Mental Health and Community Mental Health for Central Michigan, but the incidents had no connection to his work.

Marcano entered the plea the day he was set for trial.

Child Psychiatrist Arrested on Charges of Criminal Sexual Conduct

Based on data from these three reports from the state of Michigan

---

A child psychiatrist is facing criminal sexual conduct charges with someone who is not one of his patients.

Dr. Carlos Marcano, 58, of Byron Center was charged with three counts of criminal sexual conduct. Kent County sheriff's detectives this week arrested him on one charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and two charges of second-degree sexual assault.

He is a child psychiatrist for Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, as well as Community Mental Health for Central Michigan. The alleged crime did not involve a patient, or happen on Pine Rest property, police said.

He was arraigned in Grand Rapids Township District Court, and held in the Kent County Jail on $50,000 bond.

In a statement released to the media, officials from Pine Rest said, "We have been informed by the sheriff's department that this matter did not involve any Pine Rest patients and did not arise from the performance of any duties at Pine Rest. Dr. Marcano has been placed on administrative leave pending investigation."

UPDATE: The criminal sexual conduct charges were for acts committed with an adolescent. He is charged with 1st and 2nd degree criminal sexual conduct against a child 12 to 15 years old. Community Mental Health of Central Michigan says it has suspended Marcano's contract indefinitely.

Psychologist files lawsuit against his couple for financial losses. Unfortunately, he's in jail for stabbing them first.

From the Flint Journal

A psychologist and former Mott Community College professor charged with stabbing a Grand Blanc Township woman is suing her and her husband, claiming they caused his financial ruin.

William L. Harshman is asking for damages of $5 million in his five-count civil suit.

Harshman also claims Kurt W. and Lisa N. Heintz caused the loss of his marriage and other woes, his attorney, Michael B. Haley said.

The Heintzes, whom The Journal has been unable to reach, have 21 days to respond to the lawsuit after they are served.

The case has been assigned to Genesee Circuit Judge Geoffrey L. Neithercut, but no trial or other dates will be scheduled until the Heintzes are served.

Harshman, 50, is charged with first degree home invasion and two counts of assault with intent to murder in a Dec. 24 incident at the Heintzes' Grand Blanc Township home.

Police and prosecutors said Harshman went to 8259 Pine Hollow and stabbed Lisa Heintz and Edward Lapine, 17, who was helping the Heintzes move from their residence.

Heintz suffered a broken arm while trying to defend herself from a knife blow. Lapine was stabbed in the back but managed to run and call for help. Neither injury was considered life-threatening.

Haley recently received approval from a judge to have Harshman examined at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry near Ann Arbor to determine if he is competent for trial and can be held criminally responsible for his actions.

"We believe Dr. Harshman was not competent or criminally responsible at the time these alleged acts occurred," Haley said.

In Harshman's lawsuit, Haley alleges that Harshman met Lisa Heintz in May 2005 when he began counseling her and providing psychological treatment.

He said the Harshmans and Heintzes became friends until last year, when mortgage and other business dealings crumbled.

He said Harshman lost $90,000 and began a string of bizarre behavior.

In days leading up to the Christmas Eve assault, Haley said Harshman began drinking heavily and popping pills, and planned to commit suicide in his garage through carbon monoxide poisoning.

Haley said Harshman's wife left, his daughter wants his parental rights terminated and he lost his job at MCC.

The Heintzes also are named as defendants in a bevy of lawsuits alleging they used straw buyers to act as fronts in obtaining bank loans, according to records in Genesee County Circuit Court. Police reports also indicate that Harshman was angry over a mortgage or real estate matter.

Harshman's criminal case is scheduled to continue March 19.

He is being held in the Genesee County Jail without bond.

Psychologist, implicated in home invasion, sent for psychiatric evaluation

Naturally, the guy's lawyer is blaming the victim in this case. From the Flint Journal

A psychologist who allegedly attacked a family on Christmas Eve will likely be sent to a state facility next week for forensic testing himself.

But attorney Michael B. Haley, representing William L. Harshman, said the victim's financial dealings with his client, including a mortgage about a year ago, may have led to the attacks.

Harshman, 50, is charged with first degree home invasion and two counts of assault with intent to murder in the Dec. 24 incident.

Police and prosecutors said Harshman went to 8259 Pine Hollow and stabbed Lisa Heintz and a Edward Lapine, 17, who was helping the Heintz's move from their residence.

Haley told Central District Judge Larry J. Strecco that he would be asking him to approve a motion Wednesday to have his client sent to the Center for Forensic Psychiatry near Ann Arbor for testing for criminal responsibility and competency for trial.

Outside the court, Haley said Harshman's alleged actions are out of character and he wants to determine his client's mindset before proceeding with the case.

"For someone with his background and the respect he commands, I need an expert to determine if he is psychologically sound," Haley said.

Harshman, shackled in court, said nothing during the short hearing.

Haley alluded to business dealings and refinancing transactions with Harshman and others that have led to about two dozen pending civil actions against the Heintz's in Genesee County Circuit Court involving breach of contract.

Haley said others who have been involved with the Heintz's "are victims."

Haley said the Heintz and Harshman families vacationed together in the past, at Traverse Coty and Florida, and that their children were together on Halloween.

Court records indicate Harshman was an instructor at Mott Community College for 14 years and a therapist at Oakland Psychological.

Harshman, who completed his doctorate and has no prior felony convictions, is being held without bond in the Genesee County Jail on the assault charges.

And you would think that a psychologist would be an excellent judge of human character, if his friends drove him to this point.

Psychologist facing charges of attempted murder and home Invasion.

Another shrink goes off the deep end. As seen in this report from the Kalamazoo Gazette

A 50-year-old psychologist and community college instructor is being held in the Genesee County Jail on charges of a double stabbing in Flint.

William Harshman faces charges of assault with intent to murder and first-degree home invasion in a Christmas Eve attack that wounded a woman and a teenager.

Authorities say Harshman went after Lisa Heintz and 17-year-old Edward Lapine at the woman's home.

The Flint Journal reports Lapine was helping Heintz's family pack boxes for a move.
Detective Matt Harburn told a judge Wednesday that Harshman stabbed Lapine in the back with a kitchen knife before going after Heintz, who suffered a broken arm and cuts on her chest.

The Heintz family has been in the mortgage business and reportedly had dealings with Harshman.

We also have this follow up report from The Flint Journal

A Grand Blanc Township family allegedly was on a "hit list" of eight people a local psychologist said he was going to kill, a township police detective testified Wednesday.

That testimony from Detective Matt Harburn came as he swore out charges of first-degree home invasion and two counts of assault with intent to murder against William L. Harshman, 50, a Mott Community College psychology instructor and psychologist at the Oakland Psychological Clinic.

Harshman of Grand Blanc Township, who has been held in the Genesee County Jail since his arrest, was charged with stabbing Lisa Heintz at the home she and husband Kurt share at 8259 Pine Hollow Trail just before 6 p.m. Monday. Her arm was broken in the assault.

Just before Harshman was alleged to have attacked Heintz, he is accused of entering her home and stabbing Edward Lapine, 17, of Flint, who was working for the Heintz family. Lapine, whom Harburn said was stabbed in the back, was able to flee the house with a friend, another teen.

Police said the Heintzes, who had been in the mortgage business, had known Harshman, who lived nearby at an address on McCandlish Road. Officers arrested Harshman in his driveway after police followed his tracks through some trees between his home and the subdivision where the Heintzes' home is located.

In Genesee County's Central District Court, Harburn told Davison District Judge John L. Conover that Lisa Heintz was undergoing surgery to have a plate put in her left arm, which was broken in the attack when she raised it to protect herself.

Harburn also testified that just 30 minutes before Harshman allegedly entered the Heintz home, he made a phone call to a woman he knew and told her that he was standing in front of a house where he was going to kill three people on a list of eight he'd made.

The investigator didn't specify who the people on Harshman's "hit list" were.

Harburn said Harshman had been drinking before the attacks Monday evening and had destroyed property such as clothing and photos that belonged to his wife. His wife, concerned about his behavior, had previously moved out, the detective said.

Harburn said Harshman allegedly used a black-handled kitchen knife in the attack on Lisa Heintz. Police have not yet located that knife, he said.

During his arraignment by video link between the court and the county jail, Harburn listened quietly to the charges against him and told the judge he didn't have an attorney or the means to hire one, even though he had income of $75,000 a year.

Conover ordered Harshman held without bond on the assault with intent to murder charges, and said he would be interviewed by court officials about having an attorney appointed to defend him.

He is scheduled for a preliminary examination in early January.

The tragic case of Ricky Holland

For nearly three years, Dr. Aurif Abedi, a child psychiatrist at Jackson's Foote Hospital, treated Ricky Holland's often strange and violent behavior with drugs, adjusting them based on reports from Ricky's primary caregiver, Lisa Holland.

He totally missed the child abuse. He was totally blind.

In this 14-part series, the Free Press reexamines the life and death of 7-year-old Ricky Holland. Go to freep.com/rickyholland to follow the 14-part series over the next two weeks

Here is the introduction

On a raw January day in 2006, Tim Holland fell to his knees after leading police to the skeletal remains of his son Ricky in a Michigan swamp.

"What have I done?"he wailed as he looked at the black plastic garbage bag partially submerged in the icy water. "What have I done?"

What could anyone have done to save Ricky?

What did anyone do?

Ricky's story got national attention when the search for the missing 7-year-old turned into an ugly case of murder at the hands of his adoptive parents, Tim and Lisa Holland.

They convinced authorities they were a deserving couple seeking to build a family through the foster care system.

But a Free Press investigation shines new light on how their dark, secretive world unraveled, and Ricky with it. Confidential documents provide disturbing new details about his life, death -- and those who were supposed to protect him.

Ricky came into foster care as a bright child hurt by neglect. His problems only grew, masked by powerful drugs and the Hollands' manipulation of teachers, social workers, doctors, child welfare investigators and others who looked for abuse but didn't always see it or act.

Would you have seen it?

Could you have saved Ricky?

Read his story and decide.

It won't be as easy as you think.

Minnesota Limit on Gifts to Doctors May Catch On

There are bagels and fruit in the morning, sandwiches at lunch, fresh cookies in the afternoon and an occasional restaurant dinner, but many of the doctors who routinely accept these goodies from pharmaceutical sales representatives say they see sales people for the educational messages they bring, not the food.

Maybe doctors in Minnesota are different.

Two years after Minnesota officials forbade drug makers to give doctors more than $50 worth of food or other gifts per year, drug company sales representatives there are having a far harder time marketing to doctors. The rule change was small and almost accidental — a state official decided to interpret a 1993 law differently from his predecessor. But the effect on drug makers has been profound.

The year after the change, the number of visits that Minnesota primary care doctors accepted from drug sales representatives decreased at about twice the rate of the decline reported by primary care doctors nationwide, according to a survey by ImpactRx, a New Jersey firm that tracks pharmaceutical marketing. A growing number of Minnesota hospitals and clinics have banned routine visits from them.

“We have an extended hallway, and the sales reps sit there now without anything except maybe Styrofoam cups filled with M&Ms. The 30 pizzas are gone,” said Dr. Michael Severson, a pediatrician in Brainerd, Minn. “It’s made the doctors think about whether to ban them.”

A 1997 study found that medical students saw gift-bearing drug sales representatives as helpful while viewing with suspicion those without gifts. This experiment is now being played out statewide in Minnesota.

Leslie Pott, a spokeswoman for AstraZeneca, said the company provided “modest meals” to doctors because “given a physician’s demanding clinical schedule, the most efficient time for doctors and medical staff to meet with representatives is often during lunch hour.”

“We believe it is important that physicians have access to the latest information on our drugs,” Ms. Pott said.

She would not comment on Minnesota’s food limit or its effect on her company.

Minnesota also requires drug makers to report all consulting payments made to doctors. Maine, Vermont and West Virginia have passed similar registry requirements, at least a dozen other states are considering them and Congress is considering a national one.

But no other state has adopted Minnesota’s limit on free food. That could change.

New Jersey’s attorney general, Anne Milgram, who announced on Sept. 18 the creation of a task force to examine ways to limit the gifts and money that drug and device makers give doctors, said in an interview that she planned to look closely at Minnesota’s food limit.

“When you see a doctor, you should have confidence that the advice you get is based on what’s best for you and not on some financial incentives or gifts that the doctor is getting,” Ms. Milgram said.

The interest in legislation to register or limit the food, gifts and money that drug and device makers lavish on doctors stems from growing concerns that these benefits lead doctors to prescribe more, and more expensive, drugs and devices, raising the costs of health care and changing care to patients.

Few studies have shown that patients are harmed when their doctors accept gifts or money from drug makers, in part because data comparing the prescribing trends of doctors who accept money and gifts with those who do not have for years been available only to drug makers, not to the public.

In one of the few public analyses of the prescription patterns of doctors, The New York Times found that Minnesota psychiatrists who received money from makers of atypical antipsychotics tended to prescribe the drugs to children the most often despite the profound risks from these drugs.

Drug makers have long argued that buying modest meals for doctors is simply a courtesy that allows doctors to take a moment out of their busy schedules to learn about medicines. Most doctors dismiss the notion that they can be influenced by food.

But the Minnesota experience suggests otherwise.

Dr. Samuel Carlson, chief medical officer of Park Nicollet Health Services, one of Minnesota’s largest private health systems, said that many of his system’s 20 clinics began asking to bar sales representatives after the food limit went into effect. Park Nicollet is considering further systemwide restrictions on sales representatives, Dr. Carlson said.

SMDC Health System of Duluth, Minn., a nonprofit system of 17 clinics and four hospitals, forbids drug sales representatives to make unannounced visits or provide free drug samples, gifts or food. By the end of the year, the system will place strict limits on consulting relationships between its 450 doctors and drug makers.

“No matter how you look at it, we’re all influenced by these marketing activities,” said Dr. Carl Heltne, chief medical officer for SMDC. “But patients come to us and they trust us to make decisions solely on their behalf. To uphold that trust, we can’t have even a perception that companies influence us.”

Michael Clements, the owner of a food-catering business in St. Paul, said the new rules had been disastrous for him. His business of taking lunches, paid for by drug makers, to doctors’ offices all but disappeared after the rule change, cutting his overall sales by two-thirds, Mr. Clements said.

Food has long been a pillar of drug makers’ marketing efforts. In data collected by the state of Vermont, drug makers spent nearly $778,000 last year buying food for Vermont doctors.

Food has not entirely disappeared from the marketing efforts of drug makers in Minnesota. The companies still rent out private dining rooms in restaurants and still hire influential doctors to deliver educational talks about drugs during dinner. But instead of doctors, the companies now invite nurses and secretaries to dine, drink and listen.

Sue Bikke, a geriatric nurse in St. Paul, said she was delighted when she and her nursing colleagues suddenly started receiving invitations to free meals — wine and cocktails included — at the area’s best restaurants.

“I don’t go to those places normally because they’re way too expensive for me,” Ms. Bikke said. “I’m so grateful that nurses are starting to get all these perks.”

Ms. Bikke said that many of her nursing colleagues were puzzled to receive these dinner invitations since they cannot prescribe drugs. But the nurses and secretaries may be ancillary to the companies’ principal target: the speakers at these events.

Those delivering the talks get training that involves learning drug makers’ most important marketing messages. And they receive anywhere from $500 to $5,000 for each talk they give, with some doctors earning more than $100,000 annually.

“This is the companies’ way of thanking high prescribers,” said David J. Rothman, president of the Institute on Medicine as a Profession at Columbia University. “Drug companies don’t really care who’s in the audience.”

When asked whether drug makers’ motivation for hiring doctors to educate secretaries may be to influence them instead of the secretaries, many doctors said they had never thought of that.

“That’s a good question,” answered Dr. Kent G. Brockmann, a psychiatrist from the Twin Cities, who earned more than $16,000 from 2003 to 2005 doing educational talks for drug makers. “Maybe they’re trying to keep me loyal to those drugs.”

Still, nearly all said that they were not influenced by the money they earned giving the talks

State files suit, levies fines over psychiatrist burning medical records

From this report

The state filed a lawsuit Wednesday and levied fines of $1 million against the owner of a Salem Township property where huge piles of burning medical records were found in August.

The seven-count complaint, filed by Attorney General Mike Cox for the state Department of Community Health, cites Dr. Soon K. Kim and his companies - Quality Health Plan and Signature Healthcare Services Inc. - for burning piles of records, some as large as a van, in violation of the public health code and privacy laws. Also named in as a co-defendant in the lawsuit was Dong Won (David) Kim.

The fines were imposed by the state Department of Community Health against Kim and Quality Health Plan for the improper disposal of health records.

The 415-acre property, at 6646 Six Mile Road, belongs to Soon Kim. He owned the bankrupt Greater Detroit Hospital, also known as North Detroit General Hospital. Officials said the records contained patient medical information, x-rays, and Social Security numbers.

Kim and his attorney, Laura Sanders, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Kim has had a medical license as a psychiatrist in Michigan since 1973.

The suit alleges that on Aug. 29, David Kim was burning at least three large bonfires on the Salem Township property, and told police that Sanders told him to do it. The suit said David Kim had been dumping and burning on the Salem Township property since October or November 2006.

Some of the records, according to the suit, were blowing onto other properties.

The state is seeking a preliminary injunction against burning any other medical records, and an order asking for the address and owner of all locations from which the records were taken. The state also wants information about who created the records, how many were destroyed, how far back the records went, and a description of what was destroyed.

The lawsuit asks that Kim be ordered to hire a reputable disposal company to destroy the records, and to allow the Department of Environmental Quality to determine whether the site was contaminated by burning the x-rays.

A criminal investigation into the burning, which is illegal under both privacy and toxic waste laws, remains open, officials said.

The lawsuit can be downloaded from this link

Psychiatrist, wife die in murder-suicide

As Reported in the Battle Creek Enquirer - under apparently mysterious circumstances, where the psychiatrist, sadly, could not heal himself.

The deaths of a Livingston County couple, one a psychiatrist who practiced in Battle Creek, have been ruled by police as a likely murder-suicide.

The bodies of John M. Lowenbergh, 65, and his wife Nancy, 62, were found Monday in their burning home in Livingston County's Hamburg Township, where they lived 23 years.

John Lowenbergh practiced at Battle Creek's Behavioral Health Resources at 3630 Capital Ave. S.W., a part of Summit Pointe.

Nancy Lowenbergh died of a single gunshot wound to the head before fire broke out, said Hamburg Township Police Chief Steve Luciano. Her death was ruled a homicide.

John Lowenbergh also had a gunshot wound to the head that police said likely was self-inflicted. But autopsy results indicated he was alive when the fire started and died of smoke inhalation, Luciano said.

"We continue searching for any potential motive or explanation why this terrible tragedy occurred," Luciano said. "Everyone continues to tell us that the Lowenberghs were good people."

Erv Brinker, chief executive officer of Summit Pointe, said Lowenbergh was a part-time contractual employee for the past 18 months, working 20 to 30 hours a week.

"He used computers and technology looking at brain waves," Brinker said Friday. "He was interested in how the brain worked."

Brinker called Lowenbergh an intelligent man. "He was fairly reserved and he worked well with staff and was a personable gentleman. There was no indication there was a problem."

Brinker said word of the deaths was a surprise.

"The staff who worked with him were surprised and greatly saddened," Brinker said.

Before coming to Battle Creek, Lowenbergh was a community faculty member of the Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies.

Lowenbergh had an apartment at the Arbors of Battle Creek at 10 Rambling Road on Battle Creek's south side. Hamburg Township police searched the apartment Friday.

The fire was reported by a man who arrived to plow the Lowenberghs' driveway and saw smoke coming from the home's roof vents. The fire apparently had been set in an upstairs guest bedroom, Luciano said.

The Lowenberghs were found lying side-by-side in their bed, Luciano said. Two dogs in the home were rescued by neighbors.

Firefighters reported that the house was locked and there was no evidence that anyone else was inside. Nothing appeared missing and police said they didn't know of threats against the couple.

A semi-automatic handgun which had been fired twice was found in the bedroom near the bodies, police said.

The couple had been married for 35 years. John Lowenbergh was a practicing psychiatrist and an Army veteran who served in Vietnam. Nancy Lowenbergh was a registered nurse who worked for the University of Michigan Health System.

A memorial service was scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Knox Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor.

State suspends psychiatrist suspected of having sex with patient

As seen in the Lansing State Journal

The state has temporarily suspended the medical license of a Detroit-area psychiatrist suspected of having a sexual relationship with a patient, Attorney General Mike Cox said.

Albert Bayer of Farmington Hills is also suspected of over-prescribing narcotics to the same patient, Cox said in a news release.

A call to a Farmington Hills telephone listing for an Albert Bayer went unanswered Thursday evening.

Cox filed a complaint against Bayer in December with the state Department of Community Health's Bureau of Health Professions, which investigated the allegations against the psychiatrist.

"It is disturbing that a doctor would abuse the trust of patients who seek his medical assistance," Cox said. "After receiving the evidence against Dr. Bayer, my office has concluded that the public would be at risk if he were to continue practicing medicine."

Cox said his office will request "severe" sanctions against Bayer.

A reader comment at the newspaper website noted the following:

Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law, 18 U.S.C. § 242. This provision makes it a crime for a person acting under color of any law to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.

For the purpose of Section 242, acts under "color of law" include acts not only done by federal, state, or local officials within the their lawful authority, but also acts done beyond the bounds of that official's lawful authority, if the acts are done while the official is purporting to or pretending to act in the performance of his/her official duties. Persons acting under color of law within the meaning of this statute include police officers, prisons guards and other law enforcement officials, as well as judges, care providers in public health facilities, and others who are acting as public officials. It is not necessary that the crime be motivated by animus toward the race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin of the victim.

The offense is punishable by a range of imprisonment up to a life term, or the death penalty, depending upon the circumstances of the crime, and the resulting injury, if any.( The Mich. Dept. of civl rights and the "E.E.O.C" should take special note of this)