4 more women accuse DuPage County OB-GYN Vernon Cannon of misconduct, plan to file lawsuits

WHEATON, Ill. (WLS) -- By the end of this week, there could be a total of 53 lawsuits filed against a former DuPage County OBGYN and the medical group he used to represent for misconduct.

"I just feel really bad for my previous self and that I didn't register how awful it was," said Elizabeth Gudella.

RELATED: West suburban OB-GYN accused of performing exams drunk, lawsuits filed

Gudella was just 16 when she went to Wheaton's DuPage Medical Group, now Duly Health & Care, for gynecological services. She said it wasn't long before Dr. Vernon Cannon began commenting on her tattoos and more.

"Fast forward to now he is undressed, showing me his tattoos," she said. "Trying to meet up with me outside of office hours."

Gudella is one of four women who came forward Wednesday, adding their voices to the choir of former patients who have, over the last year, accused Cannon of misconduct. In several case, they said he treated them while drunk.

"There are reports, multiple reports, of him smelling like alcohol while caring for patients at Duly and at Northwestern," said attorney Evan Smola, partner at Hurley, McKenna & Mertz.

Attorneys said those reports eventually led to Duly placing Cannon on a 90 day leave of absence in October 2019. Eight months later he delivered Amy Fuentes' fourth child.

"His eyelids were really droopy and he was moving slow. And even though I was 100% ready to deliver he was in the back of the room kind of standing at the supply cabinet. Just standing there kind of out of it," she recalled.

"Duly let this go on because they were focused on profit and not on the safety of their patients," said attorney Michael Mertz, partner at Hurley, McKenna & Mertz.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Duly Health & Care said in part, "Duly vehemently denies that it knowingly allowed Dr. Cannon to engage in misconduct, and Dr. Cannon has not had any patient contact at Duly since he departed the practice in 2020."

Cannon agreed to permanently relinquish his Illinois medical license in March 2023. ABC7 reached out to him for comment but have yet to receive a response.

Full statement from Duly Health & Care

Duly takes allegations of physician misconduct extremely seriously, including those that have been raised concerning former DuPage Medical Group (DMG) physician Vernon Cannon. The actions alleged are unacceptable and inconsistent with Duly's mission to provide outstanding patient care and the ethical standards we expect our physicians to uphold. Duly vehemently denies that it knowingly allowed Dr. Cannon to engage in misconduct, and Dr. Cannon has not had any patient contact at Duly since he departed the practice in 2020.