Lawsuit filed against Dixon doctor accused of grabbing patients' breasts during exams for no reason
DIXON — A Dixon doctor is facing accusations of grabbing patients' breasts during exams for no legitimate medical reason.
A lawsuit was filed by three women against Dr. Andy Yonde Zhu and the Community Medical Center in Dixon, claiming he molested the patients during doctor visits between 2014 and 2020. The lawsuit claims the clinic knew about the behavior but did nothing.
One former patient who remains unnamed says she was 26 in 2014 when she went to the Community Medical Center in Dixon for anxiety and insomnia. She says Dr. Zhu cupped and squeezed her breast.
"I went for a medication refill, so I shouldn't have been touched at all," she said.
The former patient said she reported it to a staffer.
"I told her what happened to me," she said. "I was completely dismissed. I believe her exact words to me were, 'I wasn't there, I don't know what happened."
She never went to the police.
"The way it went down, I didn't want to talk about it anymore, and I felt stupid that I even thought I could come get help," she said. "I felt really let down."
According to the lawsuit, two other patients, aged 18 and 20, also say the doctor inappropriately squeezed their breasts. The attorneys claim Dr. Zhu lost his job after a 2020 appointment when a 16-year-old left in tears saying he touched her breasts. They claim the girl's mom was not allowed in the room because of COVID-19.
The lawsuit says the clinic knew the doctor had a history of molesting patients, yet gave him continued and unfettered access to female patients without supervision.
We reached out to the clinic which says, "Maintaining a safe environment for both staff and patients has always been, and will continue to be, CMC's priority. However, as this is a pending lawsuit, CMC cannot comment on specific allegations at this time."
"I feel like he needs to be held accountable for what he's doing, and he needs to lose his license," the former patient said. "If they would've listened to me right after 2014, this wouldn't have happened to other girls."
The medical board is now going after Dr. Zhu's license for gross negligence. The board says one patient didn't pursue what happened to her because she did not want to jeopardize her immigration paperwork.
We tried to track Dr. Zhu down but did not hear back. As of Monday night, the doctor is not charged criminally.
