The Wisconsin Medical Examining Board decided to appeal a decision by a Dane County Circuit Court Judge Wednesday when he ruled their sanctioning of a former University of Wisconsin employee was improper.

Frank Salvi, a doctor and former University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professor, was accused of sexually fondling four female patients.

In 2004 and 2005, four women independently reported Salvi inappropriately touched them on their breasts, upper thigh, buttocks and vaginal region during physical examinations.

All were referred to Salvi for chiropractic issues.

Despite the accusations, Salvi was found not guilty in a peer review through the UW health system.

The information regarding Salvi’s alleged misconduct was sent to the Dane County prosecutor’s office, which chose not to pursue a criminal case against him.

Last October, the Medical Examining Board suspended Salvi for 90 days and required him to undergo psychological examination, after which he would need at least five years of supervision.

Judge Ruby Jefferson-Moore’s written verdict for the Medical Board hearing sided with the alleged victims. She wrote that Salvi’s behavior as described by the victims was convincingly similar and she was not swayed by Salvi’s argument that the women had other motives.

“None of the reasons that he gave or the arguments that he made to rationale his behavior justify his misconduct. He has betrayed the trust of his patients and the public,” Jefferson-Moore wrote.

However, in the view of Salvi’s lawyer, Lester Pines, the initial decision by Jefferson-Moore was ridiculous and there was no evidence aside from the testimony of the accusers to support the accusations against his client.

“The board was blind and deaf to everything they’ve been told about the law and the facts,” Pines said.

According to Pines, the board excluded expert witness testimony on behalf of Salvi and evidence that a peer review committee had found Salvi not guilty of the charges.

In the view of Pines, the board did not fully do its job in examining the case, calling their decision in the matter an “absolute travesty.”

“There is not one single piece of evidence, ever, that Dr. Salvi committed any sort of sexual misconduct when examining patients,” Pines said.

Upon appeal, Circuit Court Judge John Markson ruled Salvi was improperly sanctioned because of the excluded testimony and the improper meaning of the term ‘sexual,’ as defined by law.

Markson also suspended the actions against Salvi, according to Pines.

In the view of Pines, he is happy with Markson’s decision, saying his reversal of the board’s decision, a legal rarity, shows just how wrong their conclusion was in the first place.

“This doesn’t happen every day, and when it does, it’s because the process has gone seriously off the rails,” Pines said.

In the opinion of Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing Communications Officer David Carlson, those associated with the case are disappointed in the case’s recent developments.

“The board doesn’t agree with these decisions,” Carlson said.

The Board will appeal the decision, according to Carlson.

Salvi has practiced rehabilitation medicine since 1993 and these are the first allegations of professional misconduct against him.

Should Markson’s decision not be overturned, according to Pines, Salvi would be allowed to practice medicine again.