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MORGANTOWN - Dr. Lance Parks had no apparent reason to be in the 2 West (2W) perioperative and same-day surgery unit of Ruby Memorial Hospital on June 25.
Despite being assigned to another unit within the hospital, he was spending time loitering in the area, socializing with staff - something he did regularly.
He asked who would be working the following day. At least three individuals indicated they would be on duty.
The next day a homemade recording device consisting of a small single-board computer fitted with a miniature camera and battery pack was, by chance, spotted beneath the sink in a 2W Area E staff restroom by facilities personnel.
Hospital security examined the device's memory card, determined that it contained 57 video files and reviewed the first file, which depicted a man, later identified as Parks, placing and adjusting the camera.
The three individuals who had informed Parks that they would be on duty were among those unknowingly recorded by the device.
Now one of those employees, a perioperative care assistant identified as S.W., has joined a growing list of individuals who have filed suit in the wake of the camera's discovery.
A Nov. 6 filing in Monongalia County Circuit lists West Virginia University Hospitals, West Virginia United Health System, West Virginia University Medical Corporation and Lance Parks as defendants.
The lawsuit, filed on S.W's behalf by attorneys Chirag Desai, Jacob Rosnick and Willam Tiano, lays out six counts - invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress against Parks; three counts of negligence against the health system and medical corporation; and one violation of the West Virginia Human Rights Act against WVU Hospitals.
The S.W. lawsuit is the fourth filed in the wake of the camera discovery, but the first to name Parks as a defendant.
Among the four lawsuits to date is a Sept. 1 class action filing. As of Monday, that's the only suit to which the institutional defendants have responded – asking the court to stay the proceeding pending final resolution of the criminal proceedings against Parks.
Parks, who began practicing as an attending anesthesiologist at Ruby Memorial in July 2011, was suspended June 26 and subsequently fired and arrested.
He is facing eight misdemeanor counts of criminal invasion of privacy based on the footage found on the camera placed in the 2W Area E staff restroom, and one felony count of distribution and exhibiting computer-generated child pornography based on evidence turned up during the execution of a search warrant at his residence.
Included in this latest filing is additional information about how the camera was located.
Shortly after 11 a.m. on June 26 two facilities workers who had been dispatched to address a drain odor in a different room on the floor entered the staff restroom to fill a bucket with water. They did not turn on the overhead light and one of them noticed a light visible in the room. Upon returning to investigate, the device was found beneath the sink. It was removed at 11:07 a.m. and reported to hospital security a minute later.
According to the suit, Parks remained on the premises after discovery of the camera. He was observed in the area and made contact with hospital security. Witnesses reported that he was absent from the unit for approximately one to two hours. His badge registered 17 valid access events between 11:15 a.m. and 2:37 p.m. He was not being escorted, and his movements were not restricted during that time.
"Whether Parks removed, altered, concealed or destroyed additional evidence, and whether any relevant evidence was lost, have not been determined," the suit states.
It goes on to note that subsequent forensic examination of storage devices seized from Parks' residence identified additional video files that appeared to have been recorded at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital using a concealed camera.
The lawsuit is seeking compensatory damages in an amount to be determined by the jury in counts one through five and all damages, attorney's fees, costs, and other relief available under the West Virginia Human Rights Act in count six.
Further, it seeks punitive damages against Parks and the institutional defendants.