A second former patient at Tripler Army Medical Center has joined a complaint against the U.S. Army over claims of repeated sexual abuse by a former Army doctor.
As of Tuesday, eight “Jane Doe” complainants have filed an administrative complaint against the Army, the Department of Defense and the Defense Health Agency, holding them all accountable for widespread sexual abuse allegedly carried out by Maj. Blaine McGraw, an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) accused of sexual misconduct by more than 100 plaintiffs.
McGraw was accused last November in a Texas lawsuit of unknowingly recording a former patient during a medical examination at the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center in Fort Hood. This opened the floodgates for scores of McGraw’s former patients — both at Fort Hood and at Tripler, where McGraw worked between 2019 and 2023 — with similar stories to join the case against McGraw.
But the eight Jane Doe complainants — two former Tripler patients, and six from Darnall — have accused the Army of negligence in their hiring and retaining McGraw despite his behavior.
In the complaint filed Tuesday, one of the Tripler victims claimed that McGraw performed breast and abdominal exams that were not medically necessary, that he remained in the room while the patient undressed, and that he would repeatedly place his hand on the victim’s upper thigh during each visit.
The patient also claimed that McGraw would make seemingly sexual comments about her body and would look at his phone repeatedly during appointments, leading the patient to fear that McGraw was surreptitiously recording her, something other patients accused him of doing.
Furthermore, the patient wrote that McGraw repeatedly pressured her to undergo a certain medical procedure despite her discomfort — the complaint is partially redacted, so the specific operation is unclear, but it was described as an “invasive procedure.” Eventually the patient discontinued her care with McGraw after he repeatedly attempted to bypass the Tripler front desk to schedule appointments.
“I had felt that Dr. McGraw's conduct was inappropriate, but I dismissed my feelings because I believed I could trust the military and its major doctors,” the victim wrote. “I have since learned that my trust was misplaced.”
The complaint states that McGraw’s presence posed an unreasonable risk of harm to patients, and that the Army could have mitigated McGraw’s alleged actions had the Army screened him better, or responded appropriately to complaints about him.
The victim’s complaint concludes that she is entitled to $8 million in damages from the Army.
“It’s a big number to start with,” Christine Dunn, the attorney representing the eight Jane Does, told Aloha State Daily, “but they have to include a number in the complaint.
“A sexual abuse scandal of this magnitude in the Army is very rare,” Dunn said.
Dunn, who works with Mainland law firm Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight LLP, said the Army has six months to investigate the complaint, after which the complainants can file a lawsuit against the Army in federal court.
However, Dunn said the parallel criminal case against McGraw could delay the process further.
“Right now, it’s hurry up and wait,” Dunn said, although she said she is always willing to talk to more victims of McGraw willing to come forward.
Currently, McGraw is being held at the Bell County Jail in Belton, Texas. He faces 53 charges of indecent visual recording and five of conduct unbecoming of an officer.
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