Johns Hopkins Hospital pays $190 million to patients who gynecologist recorded
Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, has agreed to pay $190 million settlement to resolve claims that a gynecologist in their employ furtively filmed his patients.
The Baltimore Sun reports the claims revolved around Dr. Nikita A. Levy, a 25-year employee of the hospital. He took his own life in February 2013 after an investigation discovered that he surreptitiously filmed his examinations of his patients.
The settlement is one of the largest ever recorded in such a case.
Levy would make his recordings by putting extremely small cameras in places like pens or key chains. During a search of Levy's home and office, more than 1,300 images taken with such cameras were discovered. Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the case estimate that around 8,000 patients may have a claim to some portion of the settlement.
The attorneys also said that law enforcement investigators determined that the images had not been shared with others or published online.
The Sun, citing a professor of healthcare law, said that such a large settlement means that Hopkins may have been trying to avoid further liability with the potential to cost even more money.
A long and protracted court battle over the matter would have also exacted a toll on Hopkins image in the community and good will towards it.
Levy was born in Jamaica, but brought up in New York. At the time of his death, he was 54, and married with three children.
Although the settlement has been approved, attorneys for both the plaintiffs and Hopkins will consult with outside experts to try and determine the amount of the settlement to which individuals are entitled.
Adding to that challenge is the fact no one has tried to identify who the images are of, because of privacy concerns. Unfortunately, this means that any one of the thousands of patients Levy saw over his 25 year long career must live with the fact that he may have violated their privacy in one of the most invasive ways possible.
