Robert Lowes
July 22, 2014
Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, has agreed to pay $190 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by up to 8000 patients of a Johns Hopkins obstetrician-gynecologist who took secret photos and videos during pelvic exams before committing suicide, according to a plaintiffs’ attorney in the case.
The venerable medical institution reached the settlement with a plaintiffs’ steering committee on July 18, said attorney Jonathon Schochor, who chairs that committee. A state court approved the settlement on a preliminary basis yesterday. Schochor told Medscape Medical News that the court could give its final approval as soon as September 19, when a fairness hearing is scheduled. The plaintiffs are represented by 8 different law firms.
Johns Hopkins fired Nikita Levy, MD, an employee since 1988, on February 8, 2013, 4 days after another employee reported that Dr. Levy wore what appeared to be a pen camera around his neck while he examined patients. That suspicion led to the discovery of similar recording equipment in Dr. Levy’s office on February 5, and his immediate suspension. The health system contacted Baltimore police the next day, but before any arrest was made, the 54-year-old Dr. Levy took his own life by asphyxiating himself. His body was found at his home in Towson, Maryland, on February 18, 2013. Police discovered what was called at the time an “exorbitant amount” of digital files stored on computers and external hard drives at his home.
In a statement, Johns Hopkins Medicine said the settlement “properly balances the concerns of thousands of plaintiffs with obligations the health system has to provide ongoing and superior care to the community.” A law enforcement investigation of Dr. Levy’s secret recordings found that “images were not shared,” according to the statement.
“We assure you that one individual does not define Johns Hopkins,” the health system said. In an earlier statement, the health system characterized what Dr. Levy did as “his egregious misconduct and breach of trust.”
Some Former Patients Have Stopped Seeing Physicians
That breach of trust has been difficult to restore for Dr. Levy’s former patients, so much so that many of them have stopped seeing obstetrician-gynecologists and other physicians, Jonathon Schochor told Medscape Medical News.
“They’re not convinced that their privacy is ensured when they go into the medical system,” said Schochor. “They remain upset, anxious, and angry.”
Despite reassurances from Johns Hopkins that Dr. Levy did not share patient images with others, many women still wonder who has seen what, said Schochor. The uncertainty is abetted by Dr. Levy’s suicide, which essentially short-circuited the criminal investigation. “Things are left hanging. It’s hard to get closure when there’s no justice for him.”
If approved by the court, the settlement will “start the long healing process,” he said. Plaintiffs will receive a share of the $190 million settlement amount based on the level of trauma they have experienced as determined by a forensic psychologist and a posttraumatic stress specialist.