Judge approves $190M settlement between Johns Hopkins and women allegedly taped by gynecologist

A judge has finalized the $190 million settlement between Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Health System and more than 8,000 patients who were allegedly taped by a gynecologist who used a tiny camera to photograph women and girls during examinations, according to WRAL.

The health system fired gynecologist Nikita Levy, MD, after allegations surfaced that he used a pen-like camera around his neck to photograph patients. In a home search, law enforcement officials found 1,200 videos and 140 images of patients on Dr. Levy's home server that he had taken during examinations without the patients' knowledge, including more than 60 images of minors. Dr. Levy committed suicide during the investigation before criminal charges were filed, according to the report.

Last October, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the health system. In July, Johns Hopkins agreed to pay $190 million to settle the lawsuit, and the settlement was approved on Sept. 19.

Since Dr. Levy's images did not show the patients' faces, authorities were unable to determine which of his 12,500 patients were photographed. Therefore, all of Dr. Levy's former patients are considered plaintiffs in the case, and more than 8,000 signed up to join the lawsuit.

Each of the plaintiffs will be evaluated by attorneys, psychologists and psychiatrists to determine their trauma level, which will determine how much of the settlement funds each woman will receive, according to the report.

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