Newark – Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced today that the State Board of Medical Examiners has temporarily suspended Dr. Peter V. Driscoll’s medical license over allegations of solicitation of and engagement in sexual contact with a patient as well as other forms of misconduct.
Driscoll is a plastic surgeon who was performing procedures with Perkins Medical NJ, P.C. in Ridgefield, New Jersey from August 2021 until June 2022. He is accused of engaging in sexual contact with one patient while performing surgery on her. Other allegations included watching pornography prior to surgeries and leaving patients unattended both before and after surgery.
“Physicians cannot be allowed to abuse their position of trust to engage in heinous acts such as those alleged here,” said Attorney General Platkin. “Any professional engaging in such sickening and predatory misconduct in the State of New Jersey will face severe consequences.”
Driscoll allegedly solicited sexual favors from a patient during a procedure after a surgical assistant left the operating room. While Driscoll was alone with the patient, he reportedly grabbed the patient’s hand and put it on his thigh while asking her to rub his genitals. He then asked her to perform other sex acts and when she refused, he pressured her to continue rubbing his genitals so he could “get motivated” to finish the procedure. The patient reported the incident to the practice manager who suspended Driscoll’s surgical privileges.
Driscoll is also alleged to have watched pornography at work while waiting for anesthesia injected into the patient to take effect, which is colloquially known as the “numbing period.” During other numbing periods, Driscoll allegedly left the surgical office or took extended breaks. He is also accused of leaving the office before patients were out of recovery post procedure, which was against the practice’s protocols.
“The vast majority of doctors in New Jersey adhere to the highest professional standards,” said Cari Fais, Acting Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “But if a doctor fails to meet those standards, we will take action. Consumers in New Jersey deserve no less.”
Under the terms of the interim suspension, Driscoll is precluded from practicing medicine or surgery in the State of New Jersey pending the conclusion of a plenary hearing in this matter.
Deputy Attorney General Michelle Mikelberg of the Professional Boards Prosecution Section in the Division of Law’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Practice Group is representing the State in this matter.
Investigators with the Enforcement Bureau within the Division of Consumer Affairs conducted the investigation into this matter.
Patients who believe that they have been treated by a licensed health care professional in an inappropriate manner can file an online complaint with the State Division of Consumer Affairs by visiting its website or by calling 1-800-242-5846 (toll free within New Jersey) or 973-504-6200.
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The mission of the Division of Consumer Affairs, within the Department of Law and Public Safety, is to protect the public from fraud, deceit, misrepresentation and professional misconduct in the sale of goods and services in New Jersey through education, advocacy, regulation and enforcement. The Division pursues its mission through its 51 professional and occupational boards that oversee 720,000 licensees in the state, its Regulated Business section that oversees 60,000 NJ registered businesses, as well as through its Office of Consumer Protection, Bureau of Securities, Charities Registration section, Office of Weights and Measures, and Legalized Games of Chance section.
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