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Victim of Dr. Nikita Levy says settlement isn't justice

Posted at 11:24 PM, May 24, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-25 05:39:24-04

More than 8,000 patients of a Johns Hopkins gynecologist accused of secretly recording pelvic exams will soon receive their share of a $190 million settlement.

While the amounts range between $1,800 to $28,000 for individuals, some say it still isn't justice. 

"It's been exhausting. It's been mentally draining. It's been disheartening," said Stazi Gomez, who was a patient of Dr. Nikita Levy from 2007 to 2013 when he committed suicide. 

"He flashed that light on me several times and then I recalled the behavior of the examinations that I had with him at the East Baltimore Medical Center," she said. "Dr. Levy would either sing the song 'Leila' by Eric Clapton or play the song 'Leila' and start dancing and swing around that pen that hung around his neck on the lanyard."

Leila was the daughter Gomez was carrying at the time. 

Dr. Levy worked for Johns Hopkins for more than 20 years. In 2013, it was discovered that he'd been taking pictures and taping his patients during gynecology exams. 

Two of Gomez's daughters became Dr. Levy's patients. They were also part of the class action suit representing more than 8,344 victims. 

"As a parent, we all want our children to be safe, secure and nobody to harm them," Gomez said. "So for me I will never know if Dr. Levy got my girls. I know he got me, but I don't know if he got my daughters. 

Even with the settlement checks in the mail, Gomez isn't happy. 

"We can't stand to look at Dr. Levy's face," she said. "It gets us in a panic mode."

The settlement was for about $190 million. Seven law firms will split $32 million. 

Gomez will receive the highest settlement category of up to $28,000, one of her daughters will receive up to $21,000. 

She says there's no justice in the settlement, but that her help is through healing and supporting women through the Facebook page she started. 

"I found 14 women and at the end of the day, we're going to be O.K."

The Johns Hopkins Health System fired Dr. Nikita Levy in 2013 after a co-worker alerted authorities about a pen-like camera he wore. He killed himself days later, as federal investigators found about 1,200 videos and 140 images on computers in his home.

 

The Associated Press contributed to this report