A landmark agreement with 576 patients of a convicted former obstetrician-gynecologist shows how survivors of doctor abuse can pursue civil accountability, and what steps matter most if you believe you may have a claim.
Reviewed by Abuse Justice Center · Updated 2026-06-30
Source: ProPublica / New York Magazine; Columbia University settlement terms.
Columbia University agreed to pay $750 million to 576 patients of a former obstetrician-gynecologist who worked at the university for approximately 20 years. This settlement is in addition to earlier resolutions involving more than 400 additional claims, bringing Columbia's total financial liability connected to this physician's conduct to over $1 billion. The average per-case amount in the most recent agreement is among the highest recorded in any American sexual abuse settlement of this kind.
The institutional case centers on organizational knowledge and inaction. According to a ProPublica investigation published with New York Magazine, the university received abuse complaints over many years. When law enforcement arrested the physician following a patient's 911 call during a postpartum examination, university leadership was informed but cleared him to continue seeing patients within three days. He saw additional patients over the following five weeks, during which additional patients also reported abuse.
Columbia has also agreed to contact approximately 6,500 former patients to inform them of the physician's criminal history. This outreach is intended to reach individuals who may have had concerning experiences with the physician but who never reported them or who never connected those experiences to the broader pattern of misconduct. If you received this notification, it does not mean you are automatically part of the settlement, but it does mean your situation warrants attention from a civil attorney.
Physician sexual abuse claims against medical institutions follow the same general civil liability framework as other institutional abuse cases. The institution can be held accountable when it had notice of the misconduct and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent additional harm. Evidence that an institution received prior complaints, conducted an inadequate internal review, or as in this case explicitly cleared a known subject to continue working after an arrest, is directly relevant to establishing that liability.
Medical institutions owe their patients a duty of care that extends beyond individual physicians to the institution's supervision and oversight of its clinical staff. When the institution fails in that supervisory duty, it can be liable in civil court even if it did not directly participate in the abuse. Physician abuse cases have produced some of the largest institutional abuse settlements in American history, including the Columbia case and a $852 million settlement by a Michigan university over abuse by a team physician.
For survivors of physician abuse who have not yet consulted with an attorney, the key questions are whether the institution had prior notice of the misconduct, whether the standard statute of limitations in your state still permits filing, and whether any revival window applies to your situation. An initial consultation with a civil abuse attorney can help answer those questions at no cost.
If you were a patient of a physician at Columbia or any other medical institution and believe you were subjected to abuse during an examination or treatment, reaching out to a civil attorney is the practical first step. An attorney can assess whether your experience matches the pattern of documented misconduct, whether your claim falls within applicable time limits, and whether any separate settlement funds or claims processes are still open.
The $100 million fund established as part of the Columbia resolution was specifically designed for individuals who chose not to participate in the primary civil litigation. If you were a former patient contacted by Columbia under the settlement's notification requirement, that fund's claims process and deadlines are worth discussing with an attorney to understand whether you may be eligible.
Survivors of physician abuse at other institutions should understand that no single settlement applies universally. Each medical institution has its own legal situation, and the Columbia settlement does not cover claims against other hospitals, clinics, or universities. If your experience involved a different institution, a separate civil assessment of that situation is necessary. Many survivors in these cases have found that civil litigation is a meaningful path to both financial compensation and formal acknowledgment that harm occurred.
If you believe you were abused by a physician at Columbia or any other medical institution, here is what to prioritize.
Abuse Justice Center is a lawyer-matching and advocacy service, not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice. Matching and consultations are free, and network attorneys work on contingency. Need support now? The RAINN hotline is 800-656-4673, 24/7.
The scope of the settlement depends on the specific agreement terms and which entities are named as defendants. An attorney familiar with the Columbia case can advise whether a claim connected to a particular affiliated facility is covered.
The notification is a precautionary outreach to all former patients of the physician, not a finding that every recipient was harmed. Receiving the letter does not mean you have a claim, and not receiving it does not mean you lack one if you have relevant experiences to report.
Yes. If you reported abuse and the institution failed to take meaningful action, that failure is directly relevant to the institution's civil liability. Prior reports to the institution that were ignored or inadequately addressed strengthen rather than undermine an institutional abuse claim.