It was a shocking scandal involving the betrayal of one of the most sacred bonds in medicine, as one ofNew York’s top doctors abused hundreds of women under his care.
Now, after a fresh settlement agreement last week fromColumbia Universityand NewYork-Presbyterian hospital, the compensation for the crimes of Robert Hadden has approached almost a billion dollars and raised further questions as to how he was able to carry out his crimes for so long.
The latest $750m deal covered two decades ofsexual assaultsby the gynecologist for more than two decades at New York hospitals. His victims hadalready received more than $200mfrom his former employers, who were accused of knowing about his behavior and allowing him to continue practicing medicine.
“It’s a clear message that we’re going to hold institutions accountable,” Laurie Maldonado, who spent about 10 years as one of Hadden’s patients and was sexually assaulted by him, said of the settlement. “Don’t protect a serial predator; protect your patients.”
In 2023, Haddenwas convictedand sentenced to 20 years in prison for luring patients to travel across state lines so that he could sexually abuse them.
From 1987 until 2012, Hadden sexually assaulted and abused female patients during appointments and deliveries at Columbia University Irving medical center and NewYork-Presbyterian hospital, according to federal prosecutors. His victims even included some of New York City’s most prominent women, includingEvelyn Yang, wife of former presidential candidate and New York mayoral hopeful Andrew Yang.
Hadden conducted an emergency delivery for Eva Santos Veloz in 2008 and checked her without gloves, using significant force and almost his entire fist, she said.
“It was a really traumatic experience,” said Santos Veloz, who was then 18 years old and scared to disclose the sexual assault because of her immigration status.
Maldonado, who teaches and studies single-parent families and policy, said she saw Hadden from 2003 until 2012, during which time he engaged in grooming behavior by finding ways to get her to undress and asking inappropriate questions about her sex life.
“He really used his knowledge to make it seem like he was the only doctor for you,” said Maldonado, who had a miscarriage.
In 2011, two days before she gave birth to her son, Hadden did a dilation check during which he examined her cervix with enough force to make her cry out in pain.
“It’s supposed to be the happiest, joyful time of being a mother, and you feel like that moment was taken away from you,” Maldonado said. “I feel like the harm and the trauma is still in my body.”
In 2012, New York police arrested Hadden after receiving a call from a patient who said he licked her during an exam. Despite that allegation, a Columbia administrator allowed him to continue practicing medicine as long as he had a chaperone with him while examining patients and complied with university and hospital policies,ProPublica reported.
He continued to sexually assault patients for five weeks before Columbia suspended him, and he later retired. In 2013, the university informed Hadden’s patients that he had closed his practice but did not provide a reason,according to a letterin the ProPublica report.
In 2016, prosecutorsagreed to a dealin which Hadden would plead guilty to a felony and misdemeanor, register as a sex offender and surrender his medical license but not serve time in prison.
After more women abused by Haddencame forwardin 2020, federal prosecutorsfiled new charges, which resulted in the conviction and 20-year-prison sentence.
Columbia Universitydid not apologizeuntil ProPublica published its report in 2023, according to the news organization. Before the settlement this week, the hospitalsagreed to pay$71m to 79 patients in 2021 and$165mto 147 patients in 2022. The new deal provides $750m to 576 patients.
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“This has been 13 years in the making, and I’m grateful for all my clients who have come forward to hold not just Hadden accountable, but more importantly, his enablers atColumbia Universityand NewYork-Presbyterian hospital,” said Anthony T DiPietro, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
A Columbia spokesperson responded to an interview request with a statement that the university was “implementing a multi-pronged plan, including an external investigation, a survivors’ settlement fund” and new “patient safety policies and programs to address the abuses of Robert Hadden”.
“We deeply regret the pain that his patients suffered, and this settlement is another step forward in our ongoing work and commitment to repair harm and support survivors. We commend the survivors for their bravery in coming forward,” the statement continued.
A NewYork-Presbyterian spokesperson responded to the request by stating that Columbia would be “issuing all statements on this issue”.
Santos Veloz, who now has three children, called the most recent huge settlement “a big win”.
“No matter how much they wanted to cover it up, we were able to work together to hold [Columbia] accountable in some way,” said Santos Veloz, who hopes to become an immigration attorney.
Still, Santos Veloz said she is waiting to see if Columbia follows through with its plan to better protect patients.
“We could get all the money in the world, but if this continues to happen, it means nothing,” she said.
Meanwhile, DiPietro, the plaintiffs’ attorney, now representing hundreds of women in lawsuits againstDr Barry Brock, a gynecologist at Cedars-Sinai medical center in Los Angeles,who allegedly sexually abusedpatients, and against NewYork-Presbyterian, Weill Cornell medical center and Northwell Health, which employed Darius Paduch, a urologist sentenced to life in prison for sexually abusing patients, including minors.
“The Haddens of the world are not the problem; they are just a symptom,” DiPietro. “The problem is the toxic culture at these medical institutions that lie, cover up and expose more patients to known serial sexual predators.”
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html