Milpitas sleep doctor faces sexual misconduct claims by patient, employees, job applicant

Milpitas police say two additional alleged victims have come forward with sexual misconduct claims against Milpitas-based pulmonologist and sleep specialist Dr. Sanjay Kumar Agarwal.

The police department initially announced Dr. Agarwal’s arrest in September after one of his patients reported the physician for allegedly touching her inappropriately during a consultation. The incident happened at Dr. Agarwal’s private practice in April, according to police.

Two additional alleged victims

After seeing information about Dr. Agarwal’s arrest, police say two people who worked with him at Regional Medical Center in San Jose reached out to authorities with similar allegations. They told police Dr. Agarwal touched them inappropriately when they were employees at the hospital where Dr. Agarwal also worked.

The alleged incidents happened in 2011 and between 2014 and 2015, according to police. The accusers did not file complaints at the time. They came forward after hearing about the allegation and arrest from a few months ago.

“The statute of limitations has expired as those incidents happened over 10 years ago, but information has still been forwarded over to the District Attorney’s Office…They add context to the investigation,” Milpitas Police Officer Michelle Sanchez said.

Separate active criminal case involving job applicant

Searching through court records, NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit uncovered allegations against Dr. Agarwal. He currently has a separate active criminal case against him.

According to the police report, Dr. Agarwal was interviewing a woman to be his medical assistant at his Milpitas office last year. She told police she was shadowing him when Dr. Agarwal allegedly got close to her and touched her breast with his chest in his office. She said he kissed her forehead before asking “…how she would feel about having sex with him for money.”

Dr. Agarwal allegedly told her “…if she did not want to get paid for sex with him, he would still hire her.” According to the report, she declined. In court, Dr. Agarwal pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor sexual battery and soliciting prostitution. The case is ongoing.

Dr. Agarwal’s hospital affiliations

Dr. Agarwal has received patient referrals from doctors at the South Bay’s biggest healthcare systems including Good Samaritan Hospital, Regional Medical Center and El Camino Health.

After learning about his September arrest, Santa Clara County health officials – who oversee Regional Medical Center – said he is no longer able to treat patients at their facilities.

“Patient care and safety are top priorities at SCVH hospitals and clinics. This physician is not employed by the County and the SCVH Medical Staff has taken all necessary and appropriate steps to safeguard patient care,” Roger Ross, County of Santa Clara spokesperson, said in an emailed statement.

Dr. Agarwal does not actively have a contract with El Camino Health. An El Camino Health spokesperson told us the physician in question does not have privileges to provide patient care at El Camino Health.

He still has an active affiliation with Good Samaritan Hospital.

“This physician is not employed by Good Samaritan Hospital, and the alleged incident did not occur at our facility. Like hospitals across the country, there are protocols in place for reviewing credentials and safeguarding the health and wellbeing of our patients,” said Cassandra Jones, Director of Media Relations for HCA Healthcare, which owns Good Samaritan Hospital.

Dr. Agarwal’s response to the allegations

NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit reached Dr. Agarwal by phone. He said “This is bogus. This is fraud, and I won’t be speaking about this any further. My attorneys are addressing it.” We reached out to his attorney and he had no additional comment.

Candice Nguyen is the investigative reporter on this story. If you have a question or comment or if you have an investigation tip, email candice.nguyen@nbcuni.com.