A pregnant woman has her blood pressure measured by a hospital staff
A pregnant woman has her blood pressure measured by a paramedic after she and colleagues were evacuated following an earthquake in Mexico City April 18, 2014. The magnitude 7.2 quake was centred in the south-western state of Guerrero, close to the Pacific beach resort of Acapulco, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. Some residents of the capital ran outdoors in their pajamas after the quake. Electricity was cut off in parts of the city and some residents said paintings fell off the walls while small parts of masonry crumbled inside apartment buildings. REUTERS/Bernardo Montoya REUTERS/Bernardo Montoya

The Johns Hopkins Health System in the US will pay $190 million in compensation to more than 8,000 women whose bodies were videographed by a gynecologist using his pen-like camera during pelvic exams. According to a Global News report, the scandal accused Dr. Nikita Levy was fired in February 2013 after a co-worker alerted the hospital authorities about it. Later the doctor committed suicide. The investigators recovered some 1,200 videos and 140 images stored on the servers from the errant doctor's home.

The settlement is one of the largest in the U.S. involving the sexual misconduct by a physician. The hospital Hopkins hoped the insurance amount will cover the settlement and address the concerns that emanated from the scandal.

Hospital authorities claimed that the Baltimore police found no evidence that the doctor shared the material with others. Though the case never led to the framing of criminal charges it threatened the reputation of Johns Hopkins as a leading medical institution.

The aggrieved victims numbering some 8000 patients filed a class-action lawsuit against Johns Hopkins hospital and alleged inaction in restraining the deviant doctor.

Betrayal of Trust

Jonathan Schochor who was the attorney for the patients said the scandal had brutalised many women. Serious sleep disorders and dysfunctional attitudes in workplace, home and incapacity to cooperate with mates haunted many of them. The attorney called the episode a huge breach of trust and a great betrayal.

Thousands of women underwent the trauma though their faces were not visible from the videos. It was not clear which all patients were recorded.

Johns Hopkins Defence

Johns Hopkins's defended itself and said the settlement and findings by law enforcement agencies confirmed that images were not shared. So it helped those affected in achieving a measure of closure. The hospital also made it clear that one errant individual will not define Johns Hopkins.

According to blogger Molly Green Berg, the settlement puts to rest one of the largest cases of sexual misconduct by a physician. To some extent the settlement also saved the name of Johns Hopkins, which was getting besmirched during the controversy.

In the hospital scandal case, the doctor's suicide frustrated everyone who wanted to know his motives and bring him to justice. Hopkins also sent out letters to the entire set of patients apologising and urging them to seek further care with other Hopkins specialists.