Abdollah Assad

Las Vegas Review Journal
Medical board complaint: Psychiatrist had sex with patient after suicide attempt
By Mary Hynes
August 29, 2024

— Excerpt

A Nevada medical board committee has filed a complaint against a Reno psychiatrist alleging that he had sex with a patient who had just attempted suicide instead of taking her to a hospital or calling police.

The investigative committee of the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners filed the complaint on Aug. 14 against Dr. Abdollah Assad, alleging that he violated the state’s Medical Practice Act.

The complaint states that Assad, licensed in Nevada since 2004, had been treating the patient since 2011, documenting her history of “anxiety and problematic relationships that included her difficult relationship with her boyfriend on repeated occasions.”

In September 2020, Assad documented a telephone visit with the 31-year-old patient, who said she was moving out of state. During the visit, he prescribed Latuda, Xanax and Adderall, the complaint states. The patient is not named in the board’s complaint.

In October 2020, the patient, who was staying in a motel, contacted Assad and “admitted to having attempted suicide,” according to the complaint.

The psychiatrist did not instruct the patient “to go to an emergency room, call an ambulance, or call police but instead came to the motel” and picked her up. He then did not take the patient to the hospital or attempt to initiate a legal mandatory hold to observe the patient after her suicide attempt.

Instead, he took her “to another motel, and engaged in sexual intercourse with her despite his awareness of troublesome relationships in the past and her obvious fragile state,” the complaint states.

Following the encounter, the doctor continued to prescribe Adderall to the patient and documented that she was going to seek a new physician. However, according to the complaint, he did not refer the woman to a new psychiatrist or make arrangements for the transfer of her care.

Assad is charged with six counts: malpractice; influencing a patient to engage in sexual activity; engaging in sexual activity with a patient; unsafe or unprofessional conduct; terminating medical care without adequate notice to a patient; and violation of patient trust and exploitation of physician and patient relationship for financial or personal gain.

The complaint appears to have been triggered by a report to the board of a settlement amount of $280,000 in connection with a lawsuit that alleged an improper sexual relationship with a patient and Assad prescribing medication inappropriately.

Reno attorney Mark G. Simons, who has represented Assad, said he had no comment at this time. Assad did not return a call seeking comment.

Also, on Aug. 14, the board filed a second complaint against Assad in connection with a different patient, a 33-year-old man.

This complaint alleges that in 2019 and early 2022, Assad improperly prescribed controlled substances to the patient. It also states that he required the patient to pay out of pocket for urine drug screenings despite the patient having Medicare.

Assad was charged with counts including: malpractice; failure to complete medical records; terminating medical care without adequate notice to a patient; violation of standards of practice, violations of model policy; and violations of standards of practice established by regulation — unreasonable additional charges of laboratory tests.

The medical board’s website shows no prior disciplinary action taken against Assad.

Board general counsel Deonne Contine wrote in an email that the case would proceed through the normal disciplinary process with the assignment of a hearing officer and scheduling of a hearing date.