An Army OB-GYN doctor at Fort Hood, Texas, has been charged with filming dozens of his patients. Advocates are now questioning whether policies to provide chaperones during sensitive exams were strong enough to keep them safe in situations with an innate “power imbalance.”
In December, Army prosecutors charged Maj. Blaine McGraw with 54 counts of indecent visual recording in a Uniform Code of Military Justice case that has over 40 victims thus far. Army investigators have contacted nearly 1,400 of McGraw’s patients from Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, Texas and Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii to inform them of the case and provide resources to a hotline.
Seven patients — one from the Hawaii hospital and six from Texas — are being represented by Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight in a complaint under the Federal Tort Claims Act, FTCA, against the gynecologist and the Army in an effort to obtain monetary damages for their suffering and hold the institution accountable for alleged negligence.
In FTCA complaints filed by the law firm and shared with Task & Purpose, patients allege that the Army was “aware” or “should have been aware” of the risk that McGraw posed to his patients. The filings also allege that the Army’s policies and procedures “failed” to minimize the risk of sexual assault since Dr. McGraw was “allowed to examine patients without a chaperone present.”
Army officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The Fort Hood hospital’s policy posted online states that patients “have the right to a chaperone or standby during physical exams and treatments.” Patients can request one and staff “will try to honor your request or help you reschedule your visit,” but there can be exceptions in emergency situations.
Christine Dunn, the lawyer heading the FTCA case, said the policy “puts the burden on the patient” to know their rights and what to ask for, which she said is “unrealistic.” Instead, she said, the onus should be on the doctors or nurses to inform patients about their rights during intimate exams.
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Two Fort Hood patients stated in their FTCA complaints that they were never informed of their right to a chaperone during their appointments with Dr. McGraw, who would stay in the room while they undressed.
A third Darnall Army Medical Center patient, named Jane Doe 4 in the filing, underwent a pelvic exam with McGraw that she described as “incredibly painful and lengthy,” and that there was no chaperone present, “nor did he ask if I wanted one.”
“I was alone with Dr. McGraw during the appointment,” Jane Doe 4 wrote, adding that she learned that the procedure lasted longer than “medically necessary” and that “the way he touched me was not appropriate for the examination he was doing.”
McGraw’s lawyer did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.
Dunn did say one of her clients did notice a sign on the wall describing the chaperone policy.
“I personally don’t read all the signs on my doctor’s walls, right? So it was not something that caught their attention,” Dunn said. “There may be some signs, but again I don’t think that’s enough because you are then again relying on the patients who happen to see it and ask the right questions.”
In court documents filed by Andrew Cobos, a lawyer representing 81 service members and military dependents in a personal injury lawsuit in a district court in Bell County, Texas, patients alleged that McGraw falsified records, which included reporting that chaperones were present during their exams.
In his legal petition for a jury trial filed in November, Cobos argues that the Army’s policy “presumes a degree of agency, confidence, and clinical knowledge that ignores the power imbalance” between a male field-grade officer like McGraw, an Army major, and the military spouses, dependents and junior soldiers he treated.
“A policy that relies on patient insistence, rather than provider obligation, effectively abandons vulnerable women to navigate the power dynamics alone,” Cobos wrote in the court filing.
Cobos also went on to argue that the consequences of this policy go beyond the Fort Hood case and “already manifested disastrously” in the case of Maj. Michael Stockin, a pain management doctor at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state who was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for abusing patients under the guise of performing routine medical exams.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American College Health Association have recommended that chaperones be used for all breast, genital or rectal exams. In 2019, the association recommended best practices for sensitive exams, including a policy that states a mandatory requirement for chaperones during sensitive exams, a second that makes chaperones optional but requires that medical staff educate patients about the availability and role of a chaperone, and a third, which allows patients to opt-out of having a chaperone and documenting that decision in their medical record.
Cobos said enforcing a mandatory chaperone policy for sensitive exams would benefit patients and providers.
“These patients walk into the room, they’re being examined. They don’t believe that a doctor is going to invade their privacy,” Cobos said.
Cobos has begun referring his clients dealing with the trauma of the case and entire ordeal to Shield of Sisters, an organization that provides counseling and other resources to victims of military sexual trauma. Shannon Hough, the group’s founder, told Task & Purpose it is drafting policy language to bring to federal lawmakers that would make chaperones mandatory for sensitive exams, like OB-GYN appointments, just as civilian medical professional groups have recommended.
The women that Hough has counseled from Fort Hood described appointments where McGraw waived the patients off of having a chaperone or sent nurses out of the room, she said.
“He would send them out for something, and then he would lock the door. ‘We’re in the middle of an exam. You can’t come back in, that’s inappropriate. You might see something,’” Hough said, paraphrasing McGraw.
Beyond fighting for legal compensation for his dozens of clients, Cobos said he is working with Shield of Sisters to help push for policy reforms.
“Even if that something is just that future women mandate that there’s a chaperone in the room, then that’s what gets fixed. But we can’t go through a situation like this only to have it brushed under the rug and for nothing to happen,” Cobos said. “That’s why it’s so important that Congress gets involved.”
The push to change the Army’s chaperone policy follows inquiries from members of Congress. Last week, four Texas lawmakers in the House and Senate called for independent Inspector General investigations into how personnel handled previous complaints and warning signs involving McGraw, and complied with medical and reporting policies.
“These accusations do not reflect isolated lapses; they point to potential long-term failures. Because the alleged conduct may have occurred over an extended period and across multiple duty stations, it is imperative that any review extends far beyond a routine internal inquiry,” lawmakers wrote.
Outside of the military’s criminal case against McGraw, Army health officials visited Fort Hood in December to review the hospital personnel’s training, patient safety and management. The Army Inspector General is also reviewing medical treatment policies and practices.
