Johns Hopkins, one of the world's most prestigious medical institutions, has agreed to pay $190 million to settle claims with more than 8,000 women against a gynecologist who secretly used a pen-like camera to record hundreds of videos and photos of his patients' sex organs during pelvic exams, New York Daily News reported. The accused doctor committed suicide days after his female co-worker alerted Johns Hopkins Health System authorities about her suspicions.
Dr. Nikita Levy was fired in February 2013, days after being exposed by a co-worker. He confessed to his crime after being forced to turn over the tiny camera, which included roughly 1,200 videos and 140 images stored on a series of servers in his home, USA Today reported. But an attorney for the Baltimore medical center on Monday described Levy as "a rogue employee'' and said Hopkins should not be blamed for his actions.
"Just because he was an employee doesn't make Johns Hopkins responsible for what he did,'' the lawyer, Don DeVries, said at a joint news conference with the plaintiffs' lawyers, adding that Hopkins agreed to settle because "we are trying to find a balance between the patients ... and the interests of Johns Hopkins to provide top quality care'' in the future.
But one of the plaintiffs' lawyers, Jonathan Schochor, said that even though Levy might have been behaving in his capacity as a physician, the hospital was still obligated to supervise him and should have known what he was doing. "All of these women were brutalized by this. Some of these women needed counseling, they were sleepless, they were dysfunctional in the workplace, they were dysfunctional at home, they were dysfunctional with their mates. This breach of trust, this betrayal - this is how they felt."
However, there has been no evidence of whether Levy had conspired with others or shared the secretly-filmed images with anyone at the hospital, members of the plaintiff's legal team said. According to CNN, the preliminary settlement is one of the largest on record to be approved by a judge in the U.S. involving sexual misconduct by a physician.
"Attorneys said about 8,500 women have signed on to the class-action lawsuit. They will be given a chance to testify before the judge about the settlement on Sept. 19," according to USA Today. "If the judge approves the settlement, each woman will be interviewed by a forensic psychologist to determine her compensation. Any woman who was examined privately by Levy is eligible to enroll in the class action; no other evidence is necessary."
Myra James, 67, had been going to him for annual exams for 20 years. Since his misconduct became public, she told the Associated Press, she hasn't seen a gynecologist. "I can't bring myself to go back," James, who gave permission to the AP to use her name, said. "You're lying there, exposed. It's violating and it's horrible, and my trust is gone. Period."
Meanwhile, Johns Hopkins said in a statement Monday, "We have come to an agreement that the plaintiffs' attorneys and Johns Hopkins Health System believe is fair and properly balances the concerns of thousands of plaintiffs with obligations the Health System has to provide ongoing and superior care to the community. It is our hope that this settlement -- and findings by law enforcement that images were not shared -- helps those affected achieve a measure of closure."
Levy, 54, graduated from the Weill Cornell Medical College in Manhattan, and completed his internship and residency at Kings County Hospital Center. He began working at Hopkins in 1988.
