In August 2023, Hurley McKenna & Mertz (HMM), P.C. filed 16 new misconduct lawsuits and will be filing an additional 25 misconduct lawsuits on behalf of patients of obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Vernon Cannon and his former employer DuPage Medical Group. In total, HMM will have filed 53 cases against the OB-GYN and his former employer.
DuPage Medical Group, now operating as Duly Health and Care, is accused of failing to supervise Dr. Cannon even though patients reported that Dr. Cannon was working under the influence of alcohol.
If you were a victim of Dr. Cannon or a witness to his misconduct at DuPage Medical Group, please contact us today.
On August 31, 2023, Hurley McKenna & Mertz, P.C. filed 12 lawsuits against against former OB-GYN Vernon Cannon and DuPage Medical Group/Duly Health and Care. They included:
Borkowski v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Bozich v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Carrion v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Carlson v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Grayczyk v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Griseta v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Hess v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Livingston v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Pohlman v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Ramirez v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Rivera v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Viviano v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
On August 16, 2023, Hurley McKenna & Mertz, P.C., announced that it has filed four new misconduct lawsuits against a Chicago area obstetrician-gynecologist and his former employer. In addition to the 16 lawsuits already filed, Hurley McKenna & Mertz, P.C. will be filing an additional 37 cases against former doctor Vernon Cannon and DuPage Medical Group, formerly Duly Health and Care, throughout the week of Aug. 14, for a total of 53 cases.
These four lawsuits included:
Deeke v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Eddings v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Fuentes v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Gudella v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Watch the press conference below.
Earlier this year, on January 10, 2023, Hurley McKenna & Mertz, P.C., filed five separate misconduct lawsuits against obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Vernon Cannon and his employer DuPage Medical Group. Of the five new lawsuits HMM filed on January 10, three involve alleged intoxicated examinations, one alleges an inappropriate sexual relationship with a patient outside of examinations, and another accuses Dr. Cannon of bizarre behavior after a stillbirth.
These five lawsuits included:
Stortz v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
O’Leary v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
McKay v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Bretana v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
Jane Doe v. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
These lawsuits follow a similarly egregious Complaint at Law HMM filed in January 2020 in the Cook County Circuit Court accusing Cannon of sexual assault and DuPage Medical Group with negligence. Along with an additional medical battery lawsuit against Dr. Cannon, all of the new complaints name the physician group as a Defendant for its alleged failures to adequately supervise a medical professional operating as their employee–a doctor who had been previously arrested for and charged with an alleged domestic battery.
An investigation conducted by Hurley McKenna & Mertz has revealed that Cannon was arrested on March 31, 2016, by Warrenville Police, who charged him with domestic battery involving alcohol. Cannon has also been the subject of multiple reports by patients to DuPage Medical Group alleging that Cannon practiced while intoxicated. Despite these reports, the suits all allege that DuPage Medical Group did nothing over a prolonged period to investigate the misconduct reports or discipline Dr. Cannon.
The lawsuits also allege that DuPage Medical Group negligently retained Cannon when it knew or should have known he examined patients while under the influence of alcohol and that DuPage Medical Group failed to adequately supervise Dr. Cannon during his interactions with female patients in light of these reports.
>>> Related resource: How Private Equity-Owned Medical Practices Can Enable Sexual Abuse and Malpractice
“We have grave concerns that a physician with domestic battery charges and reports by patients of being under the influence of alcohol on the job was able to continue his practice at DuPage Medical Group without any evidence of discipline or investigation,” according to Michael Mertz, Partner at Hurley McKenna & Mertz. “We intend to find out why DuPage Medical Group allowed this to occur.”
Among the evidence cited in the Complaints are patient surveys stating that Cannon “was under the influence of alcohol,” “slurring his words,” and had a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath.” Another patient commented that Cannon slurred his words and lacked alertness, evident in the below summary taken from the patient surveys:
In spite of these patient reports, “we believe the evidence shows that DuPage Medical Group did nothing – and allowed Cannon to continue to practice medicine at their facilities,” according to Evan Smola, Partner at Hurley McKenna & Mertz. “In fact, after two of the reports, Cannon was disciplined, not for the complaints made by patients, but for not generating enough revenue for the practice group.” As explained by Evan Smola:
There are now seven lawsuits pending against Cannon, filed by seven separate women who suffered damage at the hands of a DuPage Medical Group physician. An obstetrician-gynecologist should be a medical professional above reproach, one with whom you must trust your most intimate information, not to mention your life and health. We believe the evidence will show that Cannon betrayed that trust, violating the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship.
On Friday, January 6, 2023, the Circuit Court of Cook County ruled that patient surveys reflecting Cannon’s conduct could not be deemed “confidential” by DuPage Medical Group. The court denied DuPage Medical Group’s request to deem the patient complaints confidential, which would have prevented their disclosure to the public.
DuPage Medical Group adopted the name Duly Health and Care in September 2021, At the time of Cannon’s alleged misconduct, DuPage Medical Group was Illinois’ largest independent multispecialty physician group and operated 115 locations in and around DuPage County. Today, under the name Duly Health and Care, the medical entity advertises more than 150 Chicago area sites and over a thousand medical providers.
“We hope that these Complaints will lead to real change in the manner in which DuPage Medical Group and Duly Health and Care supervises its physicians,” according to Evan Smola. “Each of these women hopes to make positive change.”
Contact us today if you were a victim of misconduct while at a DuPage Medical Group/Duly Health and Care facility. We can help.
If you were a witness to Dr. Cannon’s misconduct at DuPage Medical Group, please contact HMM Partner Evan Smola at 312.602.1424 or esmola@hurley-law.com. Evan can advise you on how you can help the ongoing investigation of Cannon’s misconduct and DMG’s failure to protect patients.
COVERAGE
- Aug. 16, 2023: Chicago Tribune: 5 new lawsuits allege former Duly Health and Care gynecologist engaged in misconduct
- Aug. 16, 2023: CBS News Chicago: Suburban OBGYN accused of crossing the line while offering care
- Aug. 16, 2023: CBS News Chicago: OBGYN now faces 53 misconduct claims that he crossed line with patients
- Aug. 16, 2023: ABC 7: 4 more women accuse DuPage County OB-GYN Vernon Cannon of misconduct, plan to file lawsuits
- Aug. 16, 2023: Fox 32: ‘Is he high?’: More women come forward accusing suburban doctor of misconduct
- Aug. 16, 2023: Daily Herald: 4 new lawsuits allege gynecologist was intoxicated, inappropriate with patients; 37 more coming
- Jan. 12, 2023: Charlotte Observer: OB-GYN paid patient after sex in hotel room, examined others while drunk, lawsuits say
- Jan. 12, 2023: CBS 2 News: Lawsuits accuse ob-gyn of examining patients while drunk
- Jan. 11, 2023: Chicago Tribune: 7 women sue former Duly Health and Care gynecologist, accusing him of sexual battery, working while intoxicated
- Jan. 11, 2023: HMM Partners Michael Mertz and Evan Smola discuss the claims against Dr. Cannon and DuPage Medical Group
- Jan. 11, 2023: Fox News Chicago: Lawsuits allege OBGYN was drunk while seeing patients
- Jan. 11, 2023: WBBM Newsradio: OBGYN, suburban medical group named in seven misconduct lawsuits
- Jan. 11, 2023: WGN-TV: Arlington Heights doctor sued over claims of sexual battery, intoxication
- Jan. 11, 2023: ABC 7 News: West suburban OB-GYN accused of performing exams drunk, lawsuits filed
FACTS
Vernon T. Cannon, M.D.
Former DuPage Medical Group (now Duly Health & Care) OB/GYN
Practiced in Bartlett, Bloomingdale, Naperville and Wheaton
Hospital privileges at Northwestern Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield
DuPage Medical Group Employee: 2007-2019
TIMELINE
March 2016
Warrenville Police arrested Vernon T. Cannon, M.D. for
domestic battery in an incident on March 31, 2016.
See the Arrest Report: Cannon Domestic Violence Arrest Report / Photographs: Cannon Arrest Photos
May 2018
A patient of Dr. Cannon’s alleges he sexually abused her in May of 2018.
See the Complaint at Law
August 2021
DuPage Medical Group asked the Circuit Court on August 3, 2021, to dismiss the Complaint, alleging that DMG had no legal duty to supervise Cannon or protect the victim from Cannon’s misconduct.
However, records show that patients reported that Dr. Cannon was intoxicated and slurred his words during patient visits in 2018 and 2019.
See Jane Doe’s Response to DMG’s Motion to Dismiss the Complaint at Law.
Dr. Cannon continued to practice at DMG in 2018 and 2019, DESPITE THESE REPORTS.
August 2022
On August 4, 2022, the Circuit Court of Cook County denied DMG’s Motion to Dismiss Jane Doe’s Complaint and ruled that the case should move forward.
On Friday, January 6, 2023, the Circuit Court of Cook County ruled that patient surveys reflecting Cannon’s conduct could not be deemed “confidential” by DuPage Medical Group.
January 2023
On January 10, 2023, Hurley McKenna & Mertz, P.C., filed five new misconduct lawsuits against Dr. Vernon Cannon and DuPage Medical Group. Of the five new lawsuits, three involve alleged intoxicated examinations, one alleges an inappropriate sexual relationship with a patient outside of examinations, and another accuses Dr. Cannon of bizarre behavior after a stillbirth.
August 2023
On August 16, 2023, Hurley McKenna & Mertz, P.C., announced that it has filed five new misconduct lawsuits and will be filing an additional 31 lawsuits throughout the week of Aug. 14. This makes for a total of 53 lawsuits filed against Dr. Vernon Cannon and DuPage Medical Group.
IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION OR CONCERNS ABOUT DR. CANNON’S CARE, OR DuPAGE MEDICAL GROUP’s HANDLING OF DR. CANNON’S EMPLOYMENT, PLEASE CALL EVAN SMOLA OF HURLEY McKENNA & MERTZ AT 312.602.1424 FOR A CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTATION AND INTERVIEW, CONTACT US.
