Adventist Health Sonora (Calif.) has reached a settlement of $18.5 million with seven women who alleged sexual abuse from physical therapist Jason Elias who worked at Adventist Health for decades.
The complaint alleged at least five Adventist Health employees witnessed or received reports of Mr. Elias’ sexual misconduct from multiple women as early as 2007, but the health system did not immediately investigate, increase supervision or report him to law enforcement, according to a Sept. 25 news release from the plaintiffs’ law firm, Lewis & Llewellyn LLP.
The complaints said the patients came to Mr. Elias when they were in pain or at vulnerable times in their lives. He then isolated them in private treatment rooms, instructed them to completely undress and sexually assaulted them under a medical treatment guise. Mr. Elias was suspended in 2022, and Adventist Health later opened an internal investigation after several women came forward.
“Our clients went to Adventist Health for relief from debilitating pain and instead endured abuse by the person entrusted with their care,” Lewis & Llewellyn attorney Erin Reding said in the release. “The women’s bravery in coming forward exposed not only Elias’ conduct, but the institutional failures that allowed the danger to continue. We know Elias abused other women in the community, and we encourage anyone who suffered mistreatment, or anyone with information about Elias’ abuse, to come forward.”
The settlement was divided among the seven plaintiffs equally, equating to approximately $2.64 million per woman, representing one of the country’s largest per-plaintiff recoveries in a sexual abuse case that involved a medical provider, the release said.
“Adventist Health Sonora’s top priority is the care and safety of our patients, staff, and community,” a spokesperson for Adventist Health said in a statement shared with Becker’s. “When we received a formal complaint about this individual, he was suspended and stopped treating patients here. We investigated the allegations, ended his employment, and reported him to the Physical Therapy Board of California. The lawsuit has now been resolved.”
