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Patients sue Jacksonville doctor accused of recording people on toilet

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two patients are suing a Jacksonville doctor accused of recording people on the toilet at his office, as well as his former employer, North Florida Surgeons.

Action News Jax first reported in June 2018 that Dr. Manpreet Grewal resigned after he was accused of secretly recording people in the bathroom.

In Dec. 2018, Action News Jax reported the State Attorney's Office decided not to criminally charge Grewal, saying it had "insufficient evidence."

“I cried so much at first. But then it turned to rage,” said Julie Crews, one of the patients suing Grewal and North Florida Surgeons.

Crews’ medical records show Dr. Grewal examined her inside an office North Florida Surgeons rented at St. Vincent’s Southpoint in June 2017.

She said Grewal insisted on examining her in the office’s staff bathroom instead of an exam room.

“I told my husband, ‘I’m not comfortable with going in that bathroom.’ And he’s like, ‘He’s the doctor. You know, you trust the doctor,’” Crews said.

It’s the same bathroom where Grewal was accused of recording people on the toilet less than a year later.

A Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office report said both a doctor who found an iPhone concealed in the staff bathroom and the office manager told police Grewal “admitted that it was his phone and stated that he had made a great mistake.”

The report said a doctor told police Grewal said he destroyed his phone.

North Florida Surgeons did not call JSO, instead hiring a private investigator.

JSO was not notified until a woman who worked in Grewal’s office reported it. “And then when I saw your story on the news, I just screamed,” said Crews.

Crews and another patient, Amy Horton, who used that bathroom during multiple appointments, say in their lawsuit they’re worried they were secretly recorded.

They’re suing Grewal and North Florida Surgeons for what’s called discovery: They want evidence and information as a precursor to a malpractice or invasion of privacy lawsuit. “I just knew I had to do something about it. I feel an obligation to other women and other people,” said Crews. “Nobody should ever have to go through this.”

Action News Jax called Dr. Grewal twice and emailed an attorney who’s represented him before three times to try to get Grewal’s side of the story. We have not gotten a response.

Action News Jax also reached out to North Florida Surgeons’ attorney three times about this story over the past two weeks. He has not responded.

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