Women allege Mercer County doctor sexually abused them

A Mercer County doctor sexually abused dozens of women over more than a decade, according to a new civil lawsuit that describes a pattern of inappropriate touching, unnecessary procedures, and painful treatments.

Attorneys with a Philadelphia-based law firm filed a complaint Wednesday in state Superior Court in Mercer County on behalf of 31 New Jersey residents alleging former physician Bruce Pierce abused his position of trust and that Delaware Valley OBGYN, his employer, should have done more to protect patients. Many of the women had been under Pierce’s care for years.

The lawsuit comes nearly two years after the New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners announced it had suspended Pierce’s medical license, saying it found “credible evidence he baselessly sexually exploited two patients under the cloak of providing routine medical care.”

According to the lawsuit, patient complaints date to 2012. Women reported Pierce’s behavior to the clinic or other physicians at least eight times, and in two cases chaperones were in the exam room when the abuse is alleged to have occurred, it notes.

“Defendant Pierce’s conduct went far beyond the bounds of decency and would be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized society. Pierce intentionally targeted Plaintiffs at times when they were vulnerable, unclothed, or in private medical settings, exploiting their trust in Delaware Valley and its providers,” the lawsuit says.

Nathaniel Foote, attorney for the plaintiffs, told the New Jersey Monitor some of the plaintiffs have also reported the abuse to police. He said he is not aware of any criminal charges filed against Pierce.

The New Jersey Monitor was unable to reach Pierce, who joined Delaware Valley in the early 1990s. Calls to attorneys who represented him in the medical licensing dispute were not returned. A message with Delaware Valley OBGYN was also not returned.

Multiple plaintiffs said they have since shunned regular gynecological wellness exams, annual visits designed to spot breast, cervical, and other cancers and address reproductive health concerns. One has now gone six years without such a check-up, according to the lawsuit.

“Plaintiffs experienced immediate terror, humiliation, and shame during Pierces’ assaults. Plaintiffs have since suffered severe and ongoing emotional distress, including depression, anxiety, nightmares, fear of medical providers, hypervigilance, and post-traumatic stress symptoms,” the complaint says.

The suit faults Pierce for abusing his position and taking advantage of vulnerable women and blames Delaware Valley for failing to ensure patients were safe. It claims the clinic was grossly negligent in how it failed to establish and enforce sex abuse prevention policies; how it hired, trained, monitored and supervised staff; and in failing to report Pierce to the authorities.

Delaware Valley should have known or discovered that Pierce was conducting improper, abusive exams and using force on their patients, the complaint says.

The complaint alleges 13 claims including assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, discrimination against women, medical malpractice, corporate negligence, and more. The claim does not specify an award the plaintiffs are seeking, something Foote said is not required in New Jersey.

The state medical board said it suspended Pierce’s license in 2024 based on the testimony of two witnesses who claimed he touched them inappropriately, one a longtime patient whose child was delivered by Pierce. The board found both women credible and the vote was unanimous, the board said then.

“No patient should ever have to fear being sexually exploited on a physician’s exam table,” Cari Fais, the then-director of the state consumer affairs division, which oversees the board, said in 2024. Fais is now a magistrate in the federal court system.