TAXPAYER TO PAY FOR BOOB
TAXPAYERS will have to cough up the legal fees for a Gold Coast cosmetic surgeon found guilty of sexual assault.
The Queensland Health Ombudsman has been ordered to pay for Dr Cesidio Colagrande’s legal costs after he successfully appealed a ban on seeing female patients. Dr Colagrande (above) was found guilty in February of sexually assaulting a woman during a consultation. A ban was later altered to allow him to see females — as long as he has a chaperone.
TAXPAYERS will have to cough up the legal fees for a Gold Coast cosmetic surgeon found guilty of sexual assault.
The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) ordered the Queensland Health Ombudsman pay for Dr Cesidio Colagrande’s legal costs after he successfully appealed a ban on seeing female patients.
Dr Colagrande was found guilty in February of sexually assaulting a 24-year-old stripper during a follow-up consultation 12 months after a breast augmentation procedure.
Dr Colagrande pulled the woman toward him, told her she had “blow job lips”, slapped her on the bottom and asked her to have sex at his Mermaid Beach medical practice, a court was told. He was given a suspended sentence and banned by the Health Ombudsman from seeing female patients.
In April, QCAT altered the ban to allow him to see females – as long as he has a chaperone.
Neither QCAT, the Ombundsman’s office nor his defence lawyer could say how much taxpayers would have to fork out because costs had been agreed. Once this is agreed upon the Ombudsman must pay within 28 days.
QCAT deputy president Suzanne Sheridan gave the Ombudsman a spray in her judgment, saying he had an attitude of “blind refusal” which meant the case could not be settled outside of court.
Dr Colagrande originally suggested a chaperone watch over him while he worked to prevent any risk to public safety.
The Ombudsman said this was not good enough, arguing Dr Colagrande’s “history of dishonest conduct” meant a chaperone would not be effective.
The Ombudsman said the doctor was not trustworthy because he falsified information in his CV and forged a medical certificate 13 years ago.
In a letter to Dr Colagrande, the Ombudsman wrote: “I do not consider you to be a suitable candidate for chaperone conditions, taking into account your history of misleading and deceptive conduct”.
After the guilty verdict in February it was reported Dr Colagrande was given a 12month suspension by Britain’s General Medical Council in December 2004 after the council discovered he had lied on his resume in a bid to get work with an esteemed London surgeon.
Dr Colagrande also admitted to making up claims he’d worked as a plastic surgery registrar at the Royal Brisbane, Townsville General and Nagawindi hospitals.
It also shows he forged his GMC registration to show he’d obtained it in 1995, not 1999.
However, Judge Sheridan’s judgment said it was difficult to put “too much weight” on the events that happened more than a decade ago.
It said the Ombudsman had adopted an “unnecessary litigious approach” and the matter may not have gone before the courts if the Ombudsman was willing to compromise.
It was also revealed Dr Colagrande did not make the case easy, waiting until the day before the April hearing to propose conditions under which he would be watched over by an external chaperone.
The tribunal ordered the Ombudsman pay for Dr Colagrande’s costs beginning from the first day of the hearing.
The office of the Queensland Health Ombudsman told the Bulletin it was unhappy but accepted the decision. Dr Colagrande’s lawyer, Ashurst, declined to comment and Dr Colagrande did not return requests for comment.