The Daily Record (Baltimore, MD)

February 16, 2006 Thursday

Dr. Nelson Hendler sued in Baltimore Co.

BYLINE: CYNTHIA DI PASQUALE

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 367 words

A second woman who claims she was sexually abused by a prominent Baltimore County psychiatrist filed suit against the doctor this week.”Jane Doe” alleges Dr. Nelson H. Hendler, a nationally recognized pain specialist whose license was recently suspended because of allegations by three women, pushed her into unnecessary psychiatric treatment starting in 1994, and then convinced her to separate from her husband. It was during that separation that Hendler abused her, according to the complaint filed in Baltimore County Circuit Court.
The victim’s husband, “John Doe” is also named anonymously in the suit. They plan to ask a jury for $5 million, according to their attorney, Marvin Ellin. “It is a lot,” Ellin said. “But he did a lot, too.”His clients are “claiming a violation of the standard of care which incorporates every aspect of [Hendler’s] contact with this woman,” he said. Jane Doe, a woman in her mid-40s, had three surgeries on a leg she broke in 1987 but continued to suffer from chronic pain, Ellin said. In 1990, she was diagnosed for an emotional disorder and then hospitalized. She was referred to Hendler for pain management four years later. Soon after she started therapy, Hendler encouraged her to add psychiatric treatments, according to the complaint. During the seven years she was under Hendler’s care he prescribed Oxycontin, Soma, Valium, Percocet and Oxycodene, among others, and she became dependent upon these drugs. Hendler convinced Jane Doe her marriage “was responsible for all or part of her problem and she shouldn’t be married,” and said he would care for her if she left her husband, the complaint says.While his client sought the help of another psychiatrist, she wasn’t able to file a lawsuit until now because she was psychiatrically disabled, Ellin explained Hendler’s medical license was suspended Feb. 6. He is also accused of illegally dispensing narcotics and trading drugs for sexual favors. The Maryland Board of Physicians will hold a hearing on the suspension Feb. 22. Hendler is founder and clinical director of the Mensana clinic in Stevenson.Another of the women who claim abuse has a lawsuit pending against Hendler in Baltimore City Circuit Court.