Former OBGYN Patients Say $190M Hopkins Settlement Doesn't Pay For Emotional Scars
BALTIMORE (WJZ)— Johns Hopkins has reached a $190 million settlement with the victims of Dr. Nikita Levy-- who was caught secretly videotaping his patients.
But the money doesn't make up for the emotional scars some patients feel.
Meghan McCorkell has more on how they're coping.
For more than two decades, thousands of patients trusted Levy.
"I took my kids to him. I trusted him with my children. Not only just me, but my kids," said Stazi Simmons-Whitehead, former patient.
That trust was violated when investigators found more than 1300 pictures and videotapes. They say the doctor secretly took of his patients during the pelvic exams.
Joshulyn Brown, who saw Levy for 25 years, says Levy had made her feel uncomfortable at times.
"I thought 'I'm young and naive. Okay maybe this is right,'" Brown said.
Levy was eventually discovered by a suspicious co-worker at his East Baltimore clinic, which reported him to hospital officials. He was fired days later.
The doctor committed suicide inside his home as police began their investigation.
Detectives found a collection of gadgets he used to videotape patients, including the pens Simmons-Whitehead constantly saw around his neck.
"When the news broke, I told my ex-husband, I said 'there was a camera in that pen. I guarantee you there was a camera in that pen,'" Simmons-Whitehead said.
Despite the settlement, the two women are trying to cope with the violation they still feel.
"It's just a little bandage to lay on an open scar. But I'm going to come out of it though because I'm a survivor," Brown said.
And she's not alone. As many as 9500 former patients may qualify to receive part of the settlement.
Johns Hopkins says they have redoubled efforts to uphold the highest standards of patient privacy.
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