RICHMOND, Va. — A jury has ruled in favor of three women who alleged they were sexually abused while patients at a Virginia children’s hospital, awarding them a total of $300 million in damages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The jury in Richmond Circuit Court on Friday awarded each woman $60 million in compensatory damages and $40 million in punitive damages, WTVR-TV reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A total of 46 former patients sued the Cumberland Hospital for Children and Adolescents in New Kent, which treats vulnerable children, and Dr. Daniel Davidow, the hospital’s longtime medical director. In this first trial, the three former patients alleged that Davidow inappropriately touched them during femoral pulse exams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo have a group of people \u2014 a group of strangers \u2014 to look at them, to listen to them, to tell them that they believe them, that they believe in them, it broke them down, it broke them down in tears immediately,\u201d said Kevin Biniazan, the women’s lawyer. \u201dIt brook us all down in tears.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Davidow’s attorney, Bob Donnelly, told the jury during opening statements<\/a> that Davidow \u201cunequivocally denies\u201d the sexual assault allegations. Donnelly said the femoral pulse exam conducted by Davidow dates back to the 1960s and 1970s and is a \u201cstandard examination.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n