Johns Hopkins Hospital is offering a $190 million settlement with over 8,000 gynecology patients who were secretly videotaped by a "pen-like" camera worn around a doctors' neck.
Dr. Nikita Levy was fired and forced to turn over the camera in February, he committed suicide 10 days later, the Associated Press reported. The doctor was caught after a hospital employee alerted authorities to the situation. About 1,2000 videos and 140 images were found stored on servers at Levy's home.
The doctor committed suicide by wrapping his head in a plastic bag with a hose connected to a helium tank. His death has frustrated many victims who hoped to see him brought to justice.
"All of these women were brutalized by this," the women's lead attorney, Jonathan Schochor told the AP. "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."
The women's faces were not visible in the footage so authorities were not able to identify which patients were recorded, but many possible victims reported feeling traumatized following the incident.
"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. One individual does not define Johns Hopkins," the hospital said in a statement, the AP reported.
The settlement came to fruition following a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the potentially abused patients, who believed the hospital should have been more aware of what was going on. Some of these women reported being inappropriately touched and verbally abused by Levy. The doctor was also accused of calling in patients for unnecessary pelvic exams.
The settlement involves eight law firms and is waiting for final approval by a judge. A forensic psychologist and a post-traumatic stress specialist evaluated each victim and categorized their level of trauma; this will determine how much money each woman receives.
"I can't bring myself to go back," Myra James, 67,who had been seeing Levy for 20 years, told the AP. "You're lying there, exposed. It's violating and it's horrible, and my trust is gone. Period.
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