Johns Hopkins Hospital pays out $190m over doctor tapes

Johns Hopkins Hospital in the US state of Maryland has agreed to pay $ 190 million after about eight thousand women joined a legal case claiming a Gynecologist had secretly recorded their nakedness. 

Dr Nikita Levy, who committed suicide last year, reportedly used cameras in pens and key fobs to record patients. 

Lawyer for the women, Jonathan Schochor, said they had been brutalised and described it as a betrayal. 

The settlement is believed to be the largest of its kind in US history. 

The hospital said in a statement that, one individual does not define Johns Hopkins. 

Levy's misconduct was first brought to light by a colleague, who saw a pen camera around his neck. 

Authorities later discovered more than 1,200 images and video clips of patients on hard drives in Levy's home. 

The women also alleged that Levy ordered an excessive number of invasive examinations and engaged in inappropriate physical contact. 

An investigation later determined Levy participated in the misconduct on his own and did not record underage patients. 

Levy was dismissed by the hospital on 8 February 2013 after the allegations came to light and was found dead 10 days later.

BBC