This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
Nine more women filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Dr. Mark Mulholland, an OB-GYN employed by Providence St. Joseph Health and Kadlec Regional Medical Center. The women alleged Mulholland engaged in various forms of abuse during exams and medical procedures.
Attorneys Elizabeth Hanley, of Schroeter Goldmark and Bender, and Tamara Holder, of Tamara Holder Law, are representing approximately 170 former patients of Providence-Kadlec and Mulholland.
The lawsuit alleged Mulholland forced a patient to undergo an unnecessary C-section; removed a patient’s fallopian tubes without her consent; “invasively touched” a patient, commented on her sexual anatomy, and performed a hysterectomy and mesh implantation without advising her of any associated risks. Other plaintiffs alleged that Mulholland made “overtly sexual” comments, discussed their sex lives in detail, and performed unnecessary anal exams, according to Tamara Holder Law.
“Health care institutions that turn a blind eye to abuse of women and ignore their complaints are not exempt from legal liability and public accountability,” Holder stated in a news release.
The lawsuit also noted that Providence-Kadlec allowed Mulholland to see patients after the Washington Commission filed charges against him. Mulholland’s license to practice medicine on women has since been suspended as the commission investigates the many female patients’ complaints.
“Institutions have a duty to protect patients, not shield abusers,” Hanley stated. “We are pursuing accountability at every level to ensure survivors are heard, and justice is served.”
Previous sexual abuse lawsuits filed against WA medical centers, Dr. Mark Mulholland
Seven patients filed sexual abuse lawsuits on Jan. 13 against Providence Health and Services, Kadlec Regional Medical Center, and Kadlec Clinic – Associated Physicians for Women, alleging the medical centers failed to protect their patients from suspected sexual abuse by Mulholland.
The lawsuits were filed after “bombshell” documents from the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) were revealed. The documents detailed years of disturbing allegations from patients, staff, and other physicians.
Records indicated that the complaints were ignored and concealed by the many medical centers named in the lawsuit filings, failing to protect patients from harm. The DOH documents also revealed that a criminal report was filed against Mulholland in 2023.
The new batch of lawsuits, filed with attorneys at Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC (PCVA), comes after two lawsuits were filed in July 2025 and an additional five lawsuits were filed in August 2025. PCVA noted that its attorneys now represent more than 95 survivors of sexual abuse who are connected to Mulholland.
Tuesday’s filing shows that when a physician reported Mulholland to hospital management, she was informed that “He’s always been like that,” and “He sees all the skinny blonde patients. That’s his type,” among other excuses that downplayed his behavior, according to the complaint.
Similar sexual abuse complaints were raised against Mulholland regarding suggestive comments he allegedly made toward patients on the appearance and tightness of vaginas, with one patient claiming that, “He told me I have a pretty vagina during a Pap smear,” with another patient claiming similar remarks during a pelvic exam.
Other complaints noted that Mulholland allegedly commented on the size of a patient’s partner’s genitalia, and that Mulholland requested a staff member show him her breast implants.
In September 2024, another patient complained to the DOH, alleging Mulholland inappropriately touched her and made sexually suggestive comments. This patient was “deeply disturbed” by the incident, and “appalled” that Mulholland could “continue to practice medicine after molesting her.”
“I trusted Dr. Mulholland and the institutions employed him to keep me safe. Instead, I was violated, my dignity was stripped away, and my complaints were met with inaction,” Jane Doe 22, one of the plaintiffs whose lawsuit was filed in January, said. “Learning that others had reported him for years, and that nothing was done, is devastating. This lawsuit is not just about what happened to me. It is about exposing a system that chose to protect a predator over patients, and about making sure no one else is harmed the way I was.”
Physician reported concerns years before action taken
In January 2024, a former physician who worked with Mulholland for years submitted a detailed complaint to the DOH. In the complaint, the physician noted repeated incidents of sexually inappropriate conduct towards patients and staff, which had been allegedly ongoing for years.
The physician reported the behavior to leadership and human resources years before, but Kadlec and Providence didn’t take action against Mulholland to protect patients. PCVA stated that Kadlec and Providence concealed the abuse instead.
Ultimately, the physician left her job due to Kadlec’s “systemic” failures to take action against Mulholland. The complaint also noted a pattern in which Mulholland’s former patients requested consultations from other providers, expressing a strong desire to “see any provider except Dr. Mulholland,” according to PCVA.
“The deeply disturbing allegations revealed today are just the tip of the iceberg regarding Kadlec and Providence’s shocking cover-up of a physician who was a known and documented threat to patients,” Mallory Allen, partner at PCVA Law and attorney for the survivors, stated. “The callous dismissal of years of complaints enabled Dr. Mark Mulholland to serially abuse hundreds of women and girls over more than a decade.
“The more documents we uncover, the more disturbing complaints we find regarding Kadlec and Providence’s failure to protect his future patients from harm,” Allen continued. “We will continue to work diligently on behalf of the hundreds of survivors of Dr. Mark Mulholland, so that the institutions which enabled his egregious abuse will be held accountable.”
Providence Health and Services told KIRO Newsradio it couldn’t comment on the allegations.
“We cannot comment on allegations that are part of an ongoing Department of Health investigation, other than to say that we take our patients’ safety very seriously and are fully cooperating with the state in this matter. Dr. Mulholland is not practicing at our clinic,” a spokesperson stated.
Mulholland received his medical license in Washington in 1999 and practiced OB-GYN for more than 20 years.
As of this reporting, approximately 265 former patients of Mulholland are represented between Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC, Schroeter Goldmark and Bender, and Tamara Holder Law.
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