Five new lawsuits filed against Kaiser Permanente allege medical provider ignored abuse claims

Allegations against former pediatrician Michael Wilmington continue to grow, with five new lawsuits filed against Kaiser Permanente, bringing the total to six at the end of June.

Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC (PCVA Law), located in Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast, filed five new lawsuits in King County Superior Court against Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest, Northwest Permanente, P.C., and the Estate of Michael Wilmington on behalf of former patients of Wilmington. 

Wilmington was found dead of apparent suicide in Lewis County in May after being linked in a child sex trafficking ring that has three Vancouver residents currently awaiting trial in Clark County Superior Court. 

Case allegations 

Court documents state that Wilmington had hosted a number of “naked sleepovers with young children” at his La Center home. A warrant for his arrest on a first-degree child-molestation charge was issued prior to his death. 

Anna May Hartley, the wife of Chad Hartley, another suspect in the Clark County child sex abuse case, admitted knowledge of nude sexual encounters involving a minor and the three male suspects connected to the case, according to court records. One of those three men, Wilmington, hosted an underaged victim known to Anna and Chad Hartley on numerous occasions, with Chad Hartley present some times, also fully nude with the underage victim. 

Court records reveal Wilmington, with the assistance of Anna Hartley, may have had other children at his house. Investigations uncovered that Anna Hartley allowed Wilmington extensive and unsupervised access to an underage victim over several months, during which Wilmington engaged in inappropriate behavior, including sending nude images of the child in his home, according to court records.

Court records add that Anna Hartley shared images of other children with Wilmington and also brought them to his house.
Court records also state Wilmington was providing medical guidance and access to medication for Anna Hartley and the victim.

Chad Hartley faces a lengthy list of felony charges, including first-degree child molestation, first-degree trafficking, voyeurism, sexual exploitation of a minor and multiple counts related to possession and distribution of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Chad Hartley remains in Clark County Jail on $800,000 bail with his next court appearance scheduled for Aug. 13. 

Anna Hartley made an appearance in Clark County Superior Court on May 18 with a black eye — potentially inflicted during her stay in the jail — and pleaded not guilty. She remains in Clark County Jail on $300,000 bail after being charged with first-degree trafficking and first-degree child molestation; her next court appearance is slated for Aug. 13, as well. 

An additional suspect in the case, William Sneiderwine, also remains jailed on $800,000 bail after prosecutors added multiple counts of possession of child pornography and alleged he destroyed evidence connected to the investigation. Sneiderwine is next scheduled to appear in Clark County Superior Court on July 28. 

Five additional lawsuits filed by PVCA Law

Each of the five former patients allege that Kaiser and Northwest Permanente ignored complaints and red flags that Wilmington was using his role as a pediatrician to sexually abuse them, a news release by the law office stated. 

The plaintiffs allege complaints about Wilmington were made to Kaiser as early as 2006. One of the new plaintiffs, identified as Jane Doe 5, alleges that, approximately 16 years ago, Wilmington conducted a “slow” vaginal “exam” on her when she was a minor. Her mother reported concerns about Wilmington’s conduct to a Kaiser nurse and to another physician at the Kaiser Permanente Salmon Creek Medical Office where Wilmington was employed. According to the complaint, no action was taken.

“The plaintiffs allege that because Kaiser and Northwest Permanente failed to report Dr. Wilmington to the authorities or take other action to protect them, Dr. Wilmington was able to abuse them under the guise of providing medical treatment,” the news release stated.

The five lawsuits describe sexual abuse carried out in the medical setting, including Wilmington making sexually inappropriate comments, grooming children, showing pornographic material to minor patients, taking pornographic material and photographs of minor patients, inappropriately touching minor patients, fondling minor patients’ breasts and genitalia, and digitally penetrating minor patients.

“Our investigation has revealed that Dr. Wilmington serially abused his minor patients for decades,” said Mallory Allen, an attorney for the victims and a partner at PCVA Law, in the release. “Even worse, it appears Kaiser was aware of multiple complaints and many red flags indicating that he was sexually abusing his minor patients. To date, it does not appear these medical centers did anything to stop his abuses or to protect his patients. Dr. Wilmington’s sexual abuse of his minor patients is particularly insidious as it was all done under the guise of medical legitimacy. He was able to prey on vulnerable children and their caregivers under the authority of the Kaiser name.”

According to the new filings, families and caregivers raised concerns with Kaiser over many years. The following information is directly quoted from the news release by PCVA Law: 

• In 2006, a concerned mother reported to Kaiser that Wilmington had pulled down her daughter’s undergarments, suddenly and without warning or explanation, during a sports physical, in order to inspect the child’s clitoris.
• In 2010, a concerned mother reported to Kaiser that Wilmington had conducted a “slow” vaginal “exam” on her minor daughter that made her feel uncomfortable.
• In 2014, a concerned mother reported to Kaiser that Wilmington had examined her 12-year-old daughter alone in a clinic room, made lingering touches to the minor’s back and chest, slid his hand up the minor girl’s side and tried to reach under her shirt, and then attempted to pull down the minor girl’s underwear.
• In 2019, a concerned mother made multiple reports and complaints to Kaiser after Wilmington insisted she leave the room so that he could examine her minor daughter alone. The mother refused, and Wilmington became enraged while making several sexually charged comments about the minor girl’s genitalia.
• In 2020, a concerned guardian reported to Kaiser that Wilmington had suggested a minor patient, who was a survivor of sexual abuse, should shadow him at the clinic and see other children naked in order to become more comfortable being naked.
• In 2021, a concerned mother reported to Kaiser that Wilmington insisted she leave the room for a safety check of her minor daughter. When the mother returned, she saw that Wilmington had given her daughter a bottle of lubricant, and that they had discussed how to insert tampons. Wilmington encouraged the minor patient to masturbate and told her she could always talk to him about it if she was not comfortable discussing it with her mother. When the mother made her report, the response from the Kaiser medical assistant was, “Yeah, he is like that.”

PCVA Law filed the first lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente in May on behalf of a former patient who alleged Wilmington sexually abused her over several years at the Kaiser Permanente Salmon Creek Medical Office. 

“The scale of Dr. Wilmington’s abuse over the course of decades could not have happened without systemic failures by Kaiser and others,” said Jason Amala, an attorney for the victims and a partner at PCVA Law, in the news release. “Since news broke that he was being criminally investigated, we have spoken to over a hundred former patients and concerned parents who shared stories of him abusing them or their loved ones, including multiple patients and parents who made complaints about Dr. Wilmington directly to Kaiser.”

The firm has continued to investigate the extent to which Kaiser and other institutions knew or should have known about Wilmington’s conduct with children. These five new lawsuits add to that effort, PCVA Law stated. 

For a full overview of the investigation, the lawsuits, and information for former patients and families, visit the central resource page at tinyurl.com/y7fde87k. 

“Many survivors only recognize abuse years later, especially when the conduct occurred during childhood and was presented as medical care,” the news release stated. “If you or your child were a patient of Dr. Wilmington and experienced inappropriate comments or touching, unusual exams, unnecessary nudity, photographs, or other concerning behavior, you may have a legal claim. In certain circumstances, survivors in Washington can bring a claim decades after the abuse ended, and a claim may be possible even though Dr. Wilmington is deceased.”

According to the law office, PCVA Law offers confidential consultations at no cost. The firm can be reached by calling 206-429-4244.