Eugene woman sues Lane County and McKenzie Willamette, alleges invasive search

A Eugene woman is suing the McKenzie-Willamette Regional Medical Center in Lane County and one of its doctors for allegedly conducting a body cavity search without a warrant or evidence of hidden contraband in 2023.

Salina Hernandez, 37, is seeking up to $10 million in damages and a jury trial after filing a lawsuit in Lane County Circuit Court on Nov. 1 alleging negligence and sexual battery against Lane County, the McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center, and one of its doctors.

According to the lawsuit, Hernandez claims police responded to a confrontation involving her 17-year-old son. She had gone to the scene to protect her son but was arrested on suspicion of menacing, unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful use of a firearm.

Hernandez was then transported to the Lane County Jail where she claims deputies conducted a pat-down search and a strip search of her body. The searches returned no evidence of any weapon or contraband. Deputies also allegedly conducted a full body scan with an x-ray-type security machine, which further confirmed that Hernandez did not have weapons, evidence, or contraband.

The lawsuit claims Lane County policy requires that any “body cavity search may be conducted only with a search warrant” and that Lane County never obtained a search warrant to conduct such a procedure on Hernandez. Deputies are also reportedly supposed to document the supervisor who authorized the search, the names of each person present during the search, and a copy of the warrant — which Hernandez says deputies did not document.

“Despite the evidence that Ms. Hernandez was confirmed not to have any weapon, evidence, or contraband by pat-down search, strip search, and body scan, and despite the fact that Lane County did not have probable cause to conduct a body cavity search or a warrant authorizing a body cavity search, Lane County deputies transported Ms. Hernandez to McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield, Oregon, for a body cavity search to be performed,” the lawsuit said.

When Hernandez was transported to the McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center, a deputy supposedly told medical staff that they suspected Hernandez had “swallowed a bag or put something in her vagina.”

The lawsuit further details that Dr. Brian Hoyt, “acting without a warrant, without a medical need, without consent from the patient, without reviewing the body scan imaging, and without performing a bedside x-ray, used a speculum to spread Ms. Hernandez’s vaginal cavity to look inside her body and used his finger to feel inside Ms. Hernandez’s rectum while she was handcuffed to a hospital bed and recorded on video.”

Hernandez claims she did not consent to any procedure and believes a deputy signed an electronic form in her place. Despite maintaining a physician-patient relationship, Hoyt allegedly disregarded her denial of having any foreign object in her body and instead relied on “unsupported statements by the Lane County deputies.”

All searches of Ms. Hernandez’s body reportedly came back negative for evidence of weapons and contraband.

Hernandez is suing the defendants on the following counts: Dr. Hoyt and the McKenzie Willamette Medical Center are sued with one count of common law negligence, one count of negligence per se, one count of medical battery due to lack of informed consent, common law sexual battery, while Lane County is sued with common law negligence.

According to court records, Hernandez was charged on June 22, 2023, with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and was later found guilty and sentenced to three years’ probation. The felony charges are a result of a 2018 case where Hernandez was found guilty of first-degree burglary and tampering with a witness.

As of Friday, a summons had been issued to the defendants.

Haleigh Kochanski is a breaking news and public safety reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at HKochanski@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Eugene woman sues local medical center and Lane County over search

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