The Baltimore Sun reported yesterday that both police and the Johns Hopkins board of trustees have opened inquiries into the alleged secret videotaping and photographing of almost 100 women being seen by John Hopkins staff. On Monday, Doctor Nikita A. Levy was found dead in his apartment of an apparent suicide, though the results of the autopsy are still pending, after having been dismissed from Johns Hopkins on Feb. 8.
The case is being handled as an open criminal investigation by police as, allegedly, at least some of the photos were taken using a hidden camera on the top of a pen. It has yet to be determined whether the images have been distributed in violation of these patients’ privacy.
While the potential risk for monetary damages to the hospital from the resulting legal actions is still something to be seen, the damage to the hospital’s reputation is already apparent. Patients often trust their physician(s) with intimate details of their family, their sex life, and their private habits and this betrayal of trust goes to the core of that relationship.
“Dr. Levy treated women in the most personal and private medical situations. One can only imagine the pain, embarrassment and outrage these women felt when they became aware, via a news story, that Dr. Levy was being investigated for secretly taking video and pictures during those encounters with him,” said Scott Lucas, an attorney with the Cochran Firm’s local office.
The Cochran Firm’s local office will be hosting a free informational meeting in Baltimore this Saturday, February 23, 2013.
