Two Patients Accuse Buena Park Doctor of Molestation

SANTA ANA —  Two former patients filed a lawsuit against a Buena Park surgeon Friday, alleging that he sexually molested them while they were under his care, drugging one and carrying on a lengthy relationship with the other that began when she was 14.

According to the suit against Dr. Jerry D. Nilsson, filed in Orange County Superior Court, one teen was hospitalized in 1979 and assigned to Nilsson’s care. The surgeon, then about 49, molested her throughout her 10-day hospitalization, engaging in intercourse, fondling and other acts, according to the lawsuit.

After she was discharged, the lawsuit alleges, Nilsson “convinced the plaintiff’s family that [she] needed to stay under his medical care and that she would require his frequent attention, including office and home visits.”

The suit says Nilsson brought gifts to her home, continued to engage in sex acts with her, then readmitted her to the hospital in August 1979 and had sex with her in her hospital room and in his office.

The patient, now 32, only became aware of the psychological damage inflicted by the events when she underwent counseling in 1996, according to the suit.

The second woman, it alleges, sought medical care from Nilsson in August 1996 at his Buena Park office, where he injected her with “unknown drugs” that made her groggy, then fondled her.

Nilsson, 66, could not be reached for comment through his switchboard Friday.

The lawsuit combines the allegations of the two women, but the cases are unrelated, said Newport Beach attorney R. Richard Farnell. Farnell said he also plans to file a complaint against Nilsson with the California Medical Board.

The lawsuit claims that both women suffered mental anguish, emotional distress, depression, anxiety and humiliation.