A complaint against a physician alleged to have used pejorative language to a female patient has escalated into a complaint against another doctor, who serves on the state Board of Medicine.

Dr. Terry Bennett is slated for a prehearing conference this Wednesday before the New Hampshire Board of Medicine on charges he told a patient she was fat. Bennett has said he warned the patient her weight posed a serious health risk and has denied that he told her that, if her husband died, no one besides a maybe black man would want her.

The board has also resurrected an earlier complaint against Bennett that was dismissed as unfounded by the state three years ago. The prehearing meeting is open to the public and will take place at 9 a.m. at the offices of the New Hampshire Board of Medicine, located at 2 Industrial Park Drive, Concord.

"We have T-shirts, signs; it will be very colorful," said one of the group calling themselves the Have-not Supporters of Dr. Terry Bennett. "Dr. Bennett's patients are coming, and so are a lot of other people."

The group is not publicly identifying its members yet, even though attorney William Shaheen sent a letter demanding that they do on behalf of Board of Medicine member Dr. James Clifford.

Now the Board of Medicine must investigate one of its own. The supporters of Dr. Bennett filed their own complaint against Dr. James Clifford, expressing concerns about his past conduct.

"We are asking for an investigation into the fact that he's been fired for patient abuse," said the unidentified woman. "We have copies of some of the complaints against him and of a court case brought in 1996."

In 1996, Clifford was fired by Frisbie Memorial Hospital. A wrongful termination lawsuit filed by Clifford indicates he was fired after complaints about his treatment of patients were received by the hospital.

Clifford contended that he was fired for raising concerns about a physician who was kept on staff after being sent to a drug rehabilitation program. A settlement agreement was reached in 1998.

The woman said the supporters are trying to find out who appointed Clifford to the board.

"Every doctor in New Hampshire should be told who's nominated, so if they have any issue with him or her, they can protest the nomination," she said. "Only in America, the fattest country, can a doctor be punished for finally telling a patient she's fat."

Reached by phone, Bennett said he found it hypocritical to have someone with a paper trail indicating multiple patient complaints and several firings for patient abuse sitting on the board of anything, if the allegations are true.

"There should be a House/Senate oversight committee to which aggrieved people like me or the patients he abused are able to go complain," he said.

The letter from the Board of Medicine also asks for identification of at least one person who can be the contact person for the results, even though a post-office box is listed.

"They are trying to find a person for purposes not clear," said Bennett. "Is it to do their job or for another obfuscation of justice? The bad news for the board is the Have-nots are just that. Most are on Social Security and they own nothing. They have no assets, so there is nothing to sue for. They are Have-nots for me because they can walk in here and be treated like a person."

Bennett said he is furious, and is not going peacefully. Bennett said he questions Assistant Attorney General Catherine Bernhard's motivation. She is the official who handles the board's cases.

"She is a fanatic, and there are many complaints against her," said Bennett. "She is hiding behind the cloak of state government. She can't be sued individually, only fired. We devoutly hope that happens as a warning to others who abuse power."

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