Approximately 2,000 women may not receive payments as part of a class-action lawsuit because attorneys have yet to find medical records to prove they were patients of the Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins gynecologist who secretly recorded patients during exams, according to The Baltimore Sun.
Here are five things to know about the case.
1. The case involves approximately 9,600 female patients of Nikita Levy, MD. Over the course of his 25-year career at a Johns Hopkins medicine clinic in East Baltimore, Dr. Levy took photographs of patients during pelvic exams with a tiny camera on a pen he wore on a lanyard, according to the report. It was discovered by a coworker who became suspicious of Dr. Levy, according to the report. Shortly after allegations emerged, the gynecologist committed suicide.
2. Police believe about 310 to 360 patients, including 60 young girls, were filmed. Victims in the photographs cannot be identified, so all of Dr. Levy's patients were included in the class-action lawsuit as victims, according to the report. The photographs are now sealed.
3. A judge approved a $190 million settlement between the health system and Dr. Levy's patients in September 2014. All of the women will be paid at the same time, and no women have been paid yet, according to the report.
4. The case's claims adjudicator, retired Court of Appeals Judge Irma Raker is working with a team of about 50 people to interview and verify victims. Ms. Raker will propose how to divide the settlement, but the court must approve her proposal, according to the report. The team is working to identify if women had no negative effects, mild negative effects, moderate effects or severe effects, and payments will vary based on those determinations. The team has interviewed about 60 percent of patients thus far, according to the report.
5. Two-thousand of the 9,600 women who claim to be patients received letters stating that medical documentation could not be found to verify their claims. These women can still receive payments if they return a form by May 5 and are able to include test results, insurance claims, prescription bottles, pharmacy records or birth certificates proving they were a patient of Dr. Levy, according to the report.
More articles on legal and regulatory issues:
Va. judge rules against LifePoint Health hospital in balance billing dispute
14 latest healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements
Los Angeles hospital will pay $450k to settle patient dumping allegations