Weill Cornell Medicine to pay over $1 billion in civil suits to victims of former LI urologist
In the agreement, Weill Cornell Medicine acknowledged the policies and programs they had in place at the time were not adequate enough and failed to detect and sufficiently respond to the sexual abuse.
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Weill Cornell Medicine is paying over $1 billion in civil suits to the victims of former Long Island urologist Darius Paduch.
The new agreement addresses serious control failures that enabled patient abuse, according to the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
“As the public has seen time and again, when medical institutions fail to implement and enforce robust safeguards to protect patients from sexual abuse, victims suffer unspeakable harms, and the public trust in the doctor-patient relationship is undermined,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Today’s agreement sends a strong, clear message to all healthcare institutions: patient sexual abuse should never happen in our healthcare system, and institutions must devote the necessary resources to build and continuously monitor and improve programs that detect, report, and prevent sexual abuse—without exception."
Victims of Darius Paduch’s sexual abuse suffered from certain genetic conditions, as well as sexual and erectile dysfunctions, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says that over the course of the investigation, it determined that during Paduch’s time working at Weill Cornell Medicine, it maintained policies and programs that were insufficient to detect, prevent and respond to his sexual abuse of patients.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams had previously said: “Darius Paduch was a sexual predator who preyed on patients seeking treatment for sensitive medical issues. He used his position as a renowned urologist at prestigious hospitals to sexually assault vulnerable patients, including children, to gratify his own sexual desires. Paduch’s abuse was perverse and pervasive, spanning over a decade and victimizing patients both inside and outside of hospital rooms. He repeatedly violated his oath to ‘Do No Harm.’"
In addition to the $1 billion, Weill Cornell Medicine agreed to commit funds to address detection, prevention and reporting of sexual abuse and misconduct in the healthcare setting, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. It will commit $30 million to create the Institute for Safe Patient Care and Patient Empowerment which adopts meaningful sexual abuse and misconduct risk mitigation policies at healthcare providers in New York and nationwide.
In 2024, Paduch was convicted of six counts of inducement to travel to engage in unlawful sexual activity and five counts of inducement of a minor to travel to engage in unlawful sexual activity. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for his crimes.
A spokesperson for Weill Cornell Medicine issued the following statement to News 12:
"This resolution is a significant step forward for us in addressing our former faculty member’s misconduct. Today, Weill Cornell Medicine is a safer organization. Under new executive leadership, we have enacted significant reforms in patient safety and reporting protocols to ensure we provide the very best care to all those who place their trust in us. We are also launching a first-of-its-kind Institute for Safe Patient Care and Patient Empowerment that drives dialogue and action by healthcare organizations for early identification and prevention of sexual misconduct. There is no place in our community – or in any medical institution – for the type of misconduct that occurred. We are committed to advancing our mission of patient care, research, and education."
