Doctor kidnaps woman, drugs her at his ketamine clinic and assaults her, lawsuit says
.jpg "A Montana doctor is accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and drugging a woman at his ketamine clinic, a lawsuit says.")
A Montana doctor is accused of kidnapping a woman and bringing her to his ketamine clinic, where she says he drugged her with the dissociative substance and sexually assaulted her, according to a federal lawsuit.
The woman, a pharmaceutical representative of Idaho, encountered the doctor when she was in Kalispell, Montana, for work on May 9, 2022, a complaint filed Sept. 15 says.
That evening, she visited a local bar with friends to have drinks and play poker before she called an Uber at about 11:30 p.m. for a ride to her hotel, according to the complaint.
After she called the Uber, her “next memory is waking up in (his) clinic naked,” attorney John Heenan, of Heenan & Cook law firm in Billings, Montana, told McClatchy News on Oct. 18.
When she awoke at the Ketamine Infusion of Montana in Kalispell, she realized the doctor gave her ketamine and sexually assaulted her while she was “intoxicated and not capable of consent,” the complaint says.
She retrieved her clothes, fled the clinic and called 911, according to the complaint.
As she escaped, the doctor is accused of trying to force her in his pickup truck, according to the complaint, which says his son tried to help him “subdue” her.
Now the woman is suing the doctor and Ketamine Infusion, accusing the doctor of assault, battery, deprivation of bodily liberty, kidnapping, false imprisonment and infliction of emotional distress, the complaint shows.
McClatchy News contacted Ketamine Infusion for comment on Oct. 18 and didn’t receive an immediate response.
“We are proud of the courage it took for our client to come forward and pursue justice,” Heenan said about the filing of the lawsuit.
Heenan’s client called 911, and they still “do not know the status of the criminal investigation,” he said.
Flathead County Attorney Travis Ahner did not confirm or deny if the attorney’s office is deciding whether to pursue charges against the doctor, according to the Missoulian. Kalispell is in Flathead County.
Ahner told the newspaper he is typically unable to reveal whether someone is under investigation by the office.
McClatchy News is not identifying the doctor because he has not yet been formally charged.
What is ketamine?
Ketamine is a substance approved as a general anesthetic for medical procedures, according to a National Library of Medicine article updated in May 2023.
It’s considered a “superb drug for use in short-term” procedures that can help manage pain in patients and act as a sedative, the National Library of Medicine reports.
Ketamine is classified as a hallucinogen by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which says it can cause dissociation — including by distorting “the perception of sight and sound” and making “the user feel disconnected and not in control” — and memory loss.
In 2019, the Food and Drug Administration approved a form of ketamine to help treat depression as it is also a “fast-acting antidepressant” that can quickly relieve symptoms, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The doctor’s clinic offers ketamine-assisted psychotherapy by delivering ketamine infusions to patients as a “supplement” to therapy treatment they receive from a separate mental health professional, according to the business’ website.
“At Ketamine Infusion, we will collaborate with your mental health professional, (or assist you in finding a mental health professional), to help you develop an individualized comprehensive multimodal treatment plan which will best optimize your health and wellbeing,” the website says.
Lawsuit seeks accountability
The woman’s lawsuit accuses the doctor and his clinic of misusing its ketamine supply, according to the complaint.
“Ketamine Infusion had a duty to protect its ketamine supply and ensure that ketamine is only administered in a medically correct fashion, and not as a means to commit sexual assault,” the complaint says.
The woman is seeking at least $75,000 in damages, the complaint shows.
With her lawsuit, she is demanding a trial by jury and hopes to prevent the defendants from committing “heinous conduct” in the future, according to the complaint.
“She seeks accountability,” Heenan said of his client. “Each survivor who is brave enough to come forward and use the public court system to demand responsibility and accountability moves the needle in a real and meaningful way.”
Kalispell is about 115 miles north of Missoula.
This story was originally published October 18, 2023 at 9:37 AM with the headline "Doctor kidnaps woman, drugs her at his ketamine clinic and assaults her, lawsuit says."
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