NY doctor fined $1.6B for sexually abusing over 100 women
What's the story
A court has ordered pediatrician Stuart Copperman to pay $1.6 billion to more than 100 former patients who had accused him of sexual abuse. Complaints against Copperman date back to the 1980s, when he ran his practice from a basement office in Long Island. Despite dozens of allegations, he was never charged with a crime. It was only when he approached retirement that he lost his medical license at the age of 65.
Emotional response
Court ruling brings mixed feelings
A landmark judgment came from a state Supreme Court in March, which granted $1.6 billion to more than 100 former patients of Copperman. However, Reverend Debbi Rhodes, one of the victims who received $25 million, said she had mixed feelings about the verdict. "I'm not sure if he's facing justice. He kind of got away with it for all these years," she told AP.
Legal silence
Abuse began in 1968
Rhodes said Copperman sexually abused her during visits to his home office in Merrick. She said that the abuse began in 1968, when she was seven years old, and resulted in an eating disorder as well as alcohol and drug problems at a young age. Another woman, who was granted $27 million, stated that revisiting childhood trauma during her deposition was traumatic but also healing. "It feels good to know that someone heard us," the woman said.
Legal action
Copperman has denied the allegations
Copperman has strongly rejected the claims, saying that he was only being "thorough" in his exams, which his former patients said he usually did after he ushered their parents out of the room. Over the years, some of the women complained to local police and medical boards, but Rhodes's lawsuit and others say that no criminal charges or disciplinary moves were ever brought against him. Only after hearing from six claimants did the state medical board take away his license.
Verdict
Copperman is now 89 years old
However, statute of limitations laws stopped Copperman's accusers from launching cases until the passing of New York's Child Victims Act, a 2019 law that temporarily permitted victims to sue for sexual abuse they suffered as minors. Since the verdict, lawyers for the women have hired a collections specialist to begin pursuing reimbursement, although Rhodes and the other plaintiffs stated that they have accepted the possibility of not seeing much. Copperman is now 89 years old and lives in South Florida.