LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles obstetrician-gynecologist has been accused by state regulators of sexually harassing a patient, including by offering to pay her for sex and be her "sugar daddy."

The Medical Board of California accused Dr. Arjang Naim of making unwelcome sexual advances in 2021 to a patient who had sought a second opinion on test results she had gotten from another physician.

Naim, who has a solo practice in Los Angeles, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. The California medical board filed its accusation this week and has yet to hold a hearing, according to its website.

Naim was previously placed on probation by the medical board after the death of Kira Johnson, whose passing led to a public outcry and drew federal attention to the treatment of pregnant Black patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Naim, who treated Johnson before her death, completed his probation two years ago.

In the latest case, the medical board said in its accusation that Naim told a patient she was beautiful and asked why she was single, and later told her he could have sex with her even with a positive test for human papillomavirus. At the end of one appointment, Naim asked the patient to coffee, which she initially refused, then agreed to after he insisted, according to the accusation.

The doctor drove her to a coffee shop in his car and began making "inappropriate comments" that upset the woman, including offering to be her "sugar daddy" and to pay her for sex, the state agency alleged. According to the accusation, Naim groped her breast and tried to kiss her before she pushed him away.

The state agency also alleged that during sensitive procedures such as a pelvic examination, Naim failed to have a chaperone present for the patient or give her a chance to request one.

Naim previously went on probation six years ago after the California medical board accused him of negligence in his care of multiple patients, one of whom suffered hemorrhaging and died roughly 12 hours after a cesarean section.

The medical board does not name patients in its accusations, but details of her surgery and death match those of Johnson, whose husband sued Naim and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The lawsuits were ultimately settled.

Nick Rowley, an attorney representing the Johnson family, said this week that Naim "should not be allowed to practice medicine and cause further harm to patients."

Federal investigators who looked into the treatment of Johnson and other pregnant Black patients at Cedars-Sinai said in a recent letter to the health system that Naim had "espoused stereotypical, non-scientific opinions about Black women" when interviewed, including that Black patients respond differently to hemorrhaging.

Naim didn't respond to requests from The Times for comment on the remarks attributed to him by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights in its November letter. A Cedars-Sinai spokesperson said that Naim resigned from its medical staff more than six years ago and has not had medical privileges there since.

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.