An emergency room doctor in Florida was arrested last week after police say he repeatedly hit a semi-unconscious female patient using the patient’s own hand because he believed she was faking a seizure.
Dr. Onyekachi Nwabuko, 44, a Nigerian doctor practicing in the US, was taken into custody Wednesday, Feb. 16, and charged with three counts of battery.
According to a probable cause affidavit, two registered nurses, a hospital director, and the victim all provided statements that led to Nwabuko’s arrest.
Police said the victim also appeared to have suffered “a serious facial wound.”
Leesburg Police Department officers at around 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 16, answered a 911 call about a possible battery at the emergency room of the University of Florida Leesburg Medical Hospital.
Upon arrival at the scene, several hospital staff members confirmed to police that Nwabuko had unnecessarily hit a patient in the face multiple times.
According to the affidavit, one of the nurses described to police that paramedics typically assess a patient’s state of consciousness by placing the patient on their back, raising their arms a few inches, and releasing them.
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A hospital employee explained: “Patients will move or stop their hands to prevent it from hitting them in the face.”
The hospital employee, who is said to have witnessed Nwabuko’s interaction with the victim, told police that the doctor failed to follow normal procedure because he believed the patient was “faking” his medical condition, the affidavit stated.
The staff said that although the doctor clearly saw the patient trying to stop the hand from hitting her face, Nwabuko repeatedly hit her face with his hand on three separate occasions, each time using more force.
After initial interaction with the victim, Nwabuko is said to have left the exam room and returned a short time later, according to the document. When Nwabuko returned to the examination room for a second time, he hit her in the face with the patient’s own hand several times, according to the affidavit.
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