Woman files lawsuit against medical spa where Naples doctor accused of rape worked

One of the women who accused a Naples doctor of sexually abusing her while under his care has filed a lawsuit against the medical spa where it happened.

Doctor Eric Salata was arrested in Nov. and charged with raping two patients at the Pura Vida Medical Spa.

Later, Salata committed suicide while out on bond.

Salata won’t spend time behind bars and be held accountable for his alleged crimes of giving his patients laughing gas and raping them.

But, one of the women is seeking justice in the only way possible.

She’s filing a lawsuit against Pura Vida Medical Spa.

WINK News spoke with Adam Horowitz, an attorney representing the woman suing the business.

“She was frustrated that he escaped justice. She was frustrated that he would never be held accountable in criminal court never spent a day in jail, ever have his license revoked by the Department of Health. And so civil justice was all she had, and all that all she has now,” Horowitz said.

“What we allege in that lawsuit is that the company was negligent. They were negligent, allowing him to be alone with these women in the surgical procedure room to administer excessive amounts of nitrous oxide, in some cases, to intoxicate the women during their appointments through a combination of the nitrous oxide and alcohol in the case of our clients, to sexually assault her behind closed doors,” Horowitz said.

Salata was initially arrested on Nov. 21, after two patients accused him of giving them laughing gas and then raping them during procedures at the spa.

Monday, WINK News learned four more women filed similar reports with the Naples Police Department after the first two.

One of the reports states that Salata gave her nitrous oxide before performing her procedure.

He then offered her the alcohol jager which she declined.

During the procedure, he grabbed her calves and began moaning.

She believed he was touching himself, and after the procedure attempted to kiss her.

Another woman stated that she was also given nitrous oxide and awoke to Salata performing a sex act and raping her.

Horowitz told WINK News he is only representing one client and is not sure yet if any of the other women will join the lawsuit or if even more women will file reports.

But, Horowitz knows each and every one of them is struggling, like his client.

“There’s a lot of victims out there. There’s a lot of pain,” Horowitz said. We know that most sexual abuse victims will never come forward. Right. I mean, it’s, it’s, it’s embarrassing. It’s private, you know. And so I would suspect the numbers much more than we presently know. And I’m hopeful that in time, any victims have the courage to come forward to report this to law enforcement to get a full account of what took place at this office.”

Horowitz said his client plans to file a lawsuit against Salata’s estate in the future.