Weill Cornell Medicine Settles Sexual Abuse Case for $1 Billion
“to settle civil claims of patients who were sexually abused by former assistant professor and urologist Dr. Darius Paduch”
That is one pricey settlement. And there’s more to it.
The Cornell Daily Sun reports:
Weill Cornell Settles Sexual Abuse Claims for Over $1 Billion, Announces $30 Million Patient Safety Initiatives
Weill Cornell Medicine agreed to pay over $1 billion to settle civil claims of patients who were sexually abused by former assistant professor and urologist Dr. Darius Paduch, and established a $10 million yearly fund for three years to support sexual misconduct prevention, according to a U.S. Department of Justice release.
The settlement comes after a federal investigation into Weill Cornell Medicine exposed institutional failures in how patient complaints against Paduch were handled, including a lack of centralized processes or standards for documenting or investigating complaints.
The release also states that former urology chair Dr. Peter Schlegel received several reports of Paduch’s inappropriate behavior and failed to escalate the allegations or conduct proper investigations into the claims.
Paduch was sentenced to life in prison in November 2024 for his yearslong sexual abuse of more than 50 male patients, including six minors, from at least 2009 to 2019 under the guise of medical care. He was sentenced after being convicted on six counts of inducing a person to travel to engage in unlawful sexual activity and five counts of inducing a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
“Thanks to the work of our dedicated Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Darius Paduch is spending his life in prison for his horrific crimes and, importantly, WCM, a leader in healthcare for New Yorkers, is committed to maintaining an industry-leading sexual-abuse prevention program and to self-reporting any future federal crimes involving sexual misconduct to our Office,” wrote Criminal Division Chief Amanda Houle in a federal press release.
Paduch, who worked at Weill Cornell from 2003 to 2019, often conducted examinations with patients alone, and directed victims — including boys as young as 13 years old — to masturbate in his presence or with his help, in several instances penetrating patients’ rectums without gloves while masturbating them, according to the released federal indictment.
Paduch also “took various steps to cause, induce, and entice certain victims to return to see him,” and inappropriately communicated with patients using his personal cell phone. He invited several patients to his personal residence or boat where he “engaged in similar sexual abuse under the guise of medical treatment,” according to the settlement between Weill Cornell and the federal government.
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Leave a Comment