The Cochran Firm is pleased to announce that Johns Hopkins Hospital has agreed to pay $190 million to victims of gynecologist Dr. Nikita Levy, who secretly taped his patients’ pelvic exams.
"The injuries suffered by our clients has been tremendous due to the grossly inappropriate actions of Dr. Levy and the failures of The Johns Hopkins system," David Haynes, Managing Attorney and Member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee said. "This proposed settlement will bring closure to this horrible ordeal and help our clients to move forward with their lives."
The Circuit Court of Baltimore has preliminarily approved the proposed settlement agreement and notice will be provided to former patients of Dr. Levy regarding the settlement. So far, between 7,000 and 8,000 women have joined the class action against Johns Hopkins Hospital. The $190 million proposed settlement amount is funded completely by insurance policies. In order to be eligible to receive compensation, a victim must be verified to have been a former patient of Dr. Levy. The proposed agreement needs final approval from the Circuit Court and is reportedly the largest of its kind.
Dr. Levy was a gynecologist in the Johns Hopkins Community Medicine system for 25 years. He committed suicide in February 2013 after an investigation found that he used hidden cameras to record patient pelvic exams. During a raid of Dr. Levy's office and residence, police officers seized hard drives and computers and found more than 1,300 videos and images of patients. Former patients have also reported that Dr. Levy acted unprofessionally toward them, including conducting unnecessary pelvic exams, engaging in inappropriate physical contact, and acting in a verbally abusive manner toward them.
At The Cochran Firm, D.C., our attorneys are proud to fight for the rights of those who have been unjustly taken advantage of and marginalized by powerful defendants. The $190 million settlement agreement signals to other healthcare providers that they will be held responsible for privacy invasions committed by employees within the scope of their employment. This proposed resolution to the Levy case will result in additional oversight of hospital employees and greater safety protections for patients.
