Class Action Lawsuit Filed In Case Of Hopkins Doctor Accused Of Recording Patients

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Major legal action against the prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital. Tens of millions of dollars of lawsuits have been filed by patients after their gynecologist is accused of secretly videotaping some of them.

Meghan McCorkell spoke with one of patients who is suing.

The first two lawsuits were filed against the hospital in court Friday and many more are expected to come.

Patient after patient of Dr. Nikita Levy--in shock. The OB/GYN--who worked at Johns Hopkins for 25 years--is under investigation for secretly photographing and videotaping his patients. He took his own life earlier this week.

"I even felt so comfortable with Dr. Levy that I referred my own mother to him," said Tyesha Bell.

Tyesha Bell --a patient for six years--has now filed one of the first lawsuits against Levy's estate and the hospital.

"I had no idea that this man was capable of doing such acts," she  said.

About 685 patients have signed on for another class action lawsuit against Johns Hopkins. Attorneys say the hospital did not do enough to protect its patients.

"What did he do with these images? Did he put them on any site someplace? Did he sell them? Have they been disseminated?" asked attorney Jonathan Schochor.

Investigators say Levy may have used a camera hidden inside his pen to tape some of his patients. That invasion has some paranoid about future doctor visits.

"The number one question I'm going to ask is, 'Can I see your pen before we do an examination?'" Bell said.

Johns Hopkins has released a statement, saying in part:

"Any invasion of patient privacy is intolerable. Dr. Levy's behavior violates Johns Hopkins code of conduct and privacy policies and is against everything for which Johns Hopkins Medicine stands."

Police are now sifting through what they call an extensive amount of evidence that was discovered inside Levy's home.

Dr. Levy saw about 1,000 patients during his tenure at Johns Hopkins.

Police have set up a hotline for patients as part of the criminal investigation. The number is 410-396-2269.