Five new lawsuits were filed Wednesday against former obstetrician/gynecologist Dr. Vernon Cannon and his former employer, alleging that he engaged in misconduct while practicing at Duly Health and Care.
The latest suits follow 12 suits making similar allegations that were filed against Cannon and his former employer between May 2020 and June 2023. Chicago law firm Hurley, McKenna and Mertz said it has another 36 cases pending.
Many of the lawsuits filed Wednesday allege that Cannon was intoxicated while working with patients. Plaintiffs allege that they smelled alcohol while Cannon worked and that his behavior became inappropriate while visibly intoxicated.
The 17 existing lawsuits also allege battery, institutional negligence and negligent supervision by Duly, formerly known as DuPage Medical Group.
Robert Larsen, Cannon’s attorney, said that Cannon denies all pending allegations.
“As a defendant in a medically related claim, Dr. Cannon is limited by HIPAA in what he can say in response,” Larsen wrote in a statement to the Chicago Tribune. “Suffice it to say we deny these allegations, and intend to defend all of these claims. When we do we believe the true facts will come out.”
Duly, in a statement, said it takes allegations of physician misconduct extremely seriously.
“The actions alleged are unacceptable and inconsistent with Duly’s mission to provide outstanding patient care and the ethical standards we expect our physicians to uphold. Duly vehemently denies that it knowingly allowed Dr. Cannon to engage in misconduct, and Dr. Cannon has not had any patient contact at Duly since he departed the practice in 2020.”
Vesta Eddings, 33, who filed a lawsuit against Cannon and Duly on Wednesday, alleged that Cannon’s speech was noticeably slurred while he was delivering her two children, now 3 and 8.
“I was unsure if he gave me the best care I could receive,” Eddings said at a news conference Wednesday.
Both of Eddings’ pregnancies were high-risk. Eddings, who is Black, said that having to rely on an impaired doctor to deliver her children was particularly distressing given the high mortality rates faced by Black mothers.
“I just felt betrayed, I felt worried,” Eddings said.
Amy Fuentes, 38, who filed suit Wednesday, said that while delivering her fourth child in June 2020, she found Cannon disoriented.
“When he finally got to the room, his eyelids were really droopy and he was moving slow,” Fuentes said. “Even though I was 100% ready to deliver my baby, he was standing in the back of the room looking in the supply cabinet.”
After learning about the other suits filed against Cannon, Fuentes said she thinks he was intoxicated during delivery.
Cannon’s medical license expired July 31. On March 3 of this year, the state of Illinois put his medical license on permanent inactive status due to unprofessional conduct, according to state records.
Elizabeth Gudella, 33, said learning about the experiences of other women who filed lawsuits in January helped her recognize the extent to which she had been violated while under Cannon’s care.
“There was numerous things that happened at the time that didn’t register to me how awful it was,” said Gudella, who filed suit Wednesday. “I just feel really bad for my previous self.”
Gudella saw Cannon from the ages of 16 to 26. No one else was in the room during her exams, she said, during which Cannon would comment on Gudella’s tattoos which were visible during gynecological care.
Gudella alleged that Cannon would take his own jacket and shirt off during appointments to show her his own tattoos. He also asked Gudella to meet him outside of the office to receive additional medical care, including prescriptions, she said, and asked her to set him up on dates with her friends. She also alleges that he was intoxicated during exams.
Gudella has since become uncomfortable with male doctors, she said, and wary of future medical care.
Christina Deeke, 48, who filed suit Wednesday, also alleged that Cannon removed pieces of his own clothing to show her his tattoos after seeing the tattoos on her lower abdomen during an appointment.
Her suit alleges that on one occasion, this took place during a “prolonged” breast exam, during which Deeke concluded that he was intoxicated.
Deeke was Cannon’s co-worker at Duly Health while she was his patient. She said she only became his patient because other obstetrician/gynecologists at Duly Health retired.
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Hurley, McKenna and Mertz are not trying to form a settlement class, partner Evan Smola said. Each suit will remain individual so that each woman has an opportunity to tell her own story.
All plaintiffs, and any future plaintiffs, will seek at least $50,000 in damages each, so that the cases are considered civil suits.
In Illinois, civil cases seeking $10,000 to $50,000 in damages can be redirected instead to an arbitration panel.
None of the 17 active cases have yet settled, Smola said.
