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NEWARK
– The vice president of the New Jersey
Board of Medical Examiners, along with a
committee of Board members, has taken emergency
action to suspend the license of a physician
accused of physically assaulting a minor
by stabbing the child with the flat metal
end of a screwdriver at least 100 times,
causing dark bruises and bleeding cuts.
The Board of Medical Examiners is a licensing
board within the State Division of Consumer
Affairs.
The
Board committee found that the evidence
demonstrates “a clear and imminent
danger to the public health, safety and
welfare” in ordering Dr. Sylvia S.
Lee, of Emerson, to cease medical practice
and surrender her New Jersey Controlled
Dangerous Substances registration and Drug
Enforcement Administration registration.
The
temporary suspension of Lee’s license,
under an Order of the Board vice president
and committee, became effective August 18.
The full Board is expected to review the
Order and record of the committee proceedings
to determine whether to ratify the Order
at its next meeting, scheduled for September
14. After ratification, the temporary suspension
would remain in effect until the full Board
reviews plenary hearings in the matter,
after which the Board may decide to impose
further discipline if a basis for disciplinary
action is found. Lee may appeal the Board’s
decision to the Superior Court.
“The
Board of Medical Examiners takes very seriously
its mandate to protect the public’s
health and safety by determining the qualifications
for physicians and disciplining those who
do not live up to the required standards,”
Thomas R. Calcagni, Director of the Division
of Consumer Affairs, said. “When a
physician so dangerously demonstrates a
lack of judgment and impulse control, it
becomes necessary to prevent that person
from practicing.”
Prior
to the temporary suspension of her license,
Lee, an allergist, practiced at The Center
for Asthma and Allergy in Old Bridge. The
complaint filed by the Office of the Attorney
General does not identify the 13-year-old
child who is the alleged victim, or the
child’s relationship with Lee. The
complaint notes that the alleged assault
took place at Lee’s home on July 3,
and that Lee was arrested later the same
day.
The Order of the Board committee notes that,
in a recorded interview at the Emerson Police
Department after the arrest, Lee stated
the alleged incident began after the minor
victim failed to wash “doggie clothes”
and a “doggie towel” in the
correct order, and that Lee “got angry.”
According
to the Order, Lee acknowledged stabbing
the child multiple times with a flathead
screwdriver and said in the police department
interview, “I was wrong and that’s
why I stabbed her so many times.”
She allegedly admitted this was not the
first time she had a problem with anger,
recounted that she hit the child in the
past, and noted that such an episode happened
a few days before when she asked for Scotch
tape but the child brought masking tape
instead.
The
Order further mentions that Lee stated in
the police department interview that she
jabbed herself with the screwdriver the
day before the alleged assault, “as
hard as I jabbed (the child),” but
that she did not believe she injured herself.
The Order notes that photographs showed
approximately 100 “bruises and small
bleeding punctures or other wounds”
on the child’s back and other parts
of the child’s body.
As
stated in the Order, the Board had not received
patient complaints against Lee. However,
the Order states that “Dr. Lee admitted
to planning the attack by trying the screwdriver
on herself to see how painful it was the
day before the incident.”
The
Board committee stated the alleged conduct
demonstrates “a degree of violence,
significant lack of impulse control, impaired
judgment and cognition,” particularly
when compared with the “trivial nature
of the incident” involving dog clothes
that precipitated Lee’s disturbing
actions.
The
Order notes that the Board “can have
no assurance that respondent’s lack
of control will not carry over to the workplace
where stressful situations are commonplace
with patients and staff.” The Board
committee found that “no measure short
of the temporary suspension of respondent’s
license will suffice.”
Deputy
Attorney General Jeri Warhaftig and Deputy
Attorney General Wendy Leggett Faulk represented
the State in its complaint against Lee.
Consumers
who believe they have been cheated or scammed
by a business, or suspect any other form
of consumer abuse, can file a complaint
with the State Division of Consumer Affairs
by visiting its website, or by calling 1-800-242-5846
(toll free within New Jersey) or 973-504-6200.
Follow
the Division of Consumer Affairs on Facebook,
at www.facebook.com/pages/NJ-Division-of-Consumer-Affairs/112957465445651
; and check our online calendar of upcoming
Consumer Outreach events, at www.nj.gov/oag/ca/outreach/.
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