One of the largest law firms in the regional New South Wales town of Taree said it would offer legal assistance to alleged victims of the disgraced gynaecologist Emil Shawky Gayed, after initially turning women away.
In a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon, Stacks Law Firm Taree said it “has been following with alarm and sorrow the tragic stories of people who have suffered” at the hands of Gayed.
“Stacks Law Firm has received several inquiries and is offering legal assistance to any patient of Gayed who wishes to seek compensation for what was done to them, along with the pain and suffering inflicted on patients and their families that has lasted for years,” the firm said.
Guardian Australia revealed that Gayed was under investigation after performing medical procedures on women that were allegedly unnecessary and which they did not consent to, including hysterectomy and fallopian tube removal. Since then dozens more alleged victims have come forward, prompting the NSW health department to announce an independent investigation into five hospitals and health districts where Gayed was known to have worked. The investigation is being led by Gail Furness SC, who worked with the child sexual abuse royal commission, and she will deliver a report on her findings by 30 September.
Women living in Taree and who were treated by Gayed at Manning rural referral hospital or at his private rooms nearby previously told Guardian Australia that they had been turned away by Stacks Law Firm.
In June the managing director of the firm, Justin Stack, said: “As a general rule we do not accept instructions against local professionals because it could lead to a conflict of interest because a lawyer in the firm might have had past dealings with that local professional.”
Stack told Guardian Australia on Wednesday the firm had now decided to make an exception. “Over recent months our firm has become increasingly concerned about Dr Gayed’s conduct and a number of local people have approached us for our assistance so we have decided to help his victims,” he said.
One patient died of cancer after unnecessary and negligent treatment she received at the hands of Gayed, health officials confirmed in June. Gayed, who obtained his medical degree in Egypt, was registered to practise in Australia in 1994. Despite numerous complaints to the Health Care Complaints Commission, it took almost two decades for Gayed to be finally barred from practicing.
The Sydney law firm Carroll & O’Dea has been working with Gayed’s alleged victims for months, and medical lawyers from the firm have travelled to Taree to speak with women he treated. Carroll & O’Dea is now representing 13 women who claim they were harmed by him. The firm was fielding so many inquiries it issued a fact sheet.
Firths compensation lawyers in Sydney are also representing alleged victims of Gayed, as is Catherine Henry Lawyers in Newcastle, which is representing five women.
Do you know more? Contact melissa.davey@theguardian.com
