Columbia Settles for $750M Over Former Doctor’s Sexual Assaults

Columbia University and New York–Presbyterian Hospital will pay $750 million to hundreds of individuals who were sexually abused by former doctor Robert A. Hadden, bringing total legal payouts to former patients to over $1 billion, according to the plaintiffs’ lawyer.

Hadden worked at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York–Presbyterian for two decades; he was first arrested in 2012 on sexual assault charges but was allowed to continuing practicing at Columbia for weeks, according to ProPublica. By 2016, Hadden had been accused of abuse by 19 patients and agreed to a plea deal with the Manhattan district attorney’s office in which he avoided prison time but gave up his medical license and pleaded guilty to low-level felonies and a misdemeanor, The New York Times reported.

In 2020, federal prosecutors in Manhattan won a grand jury indictment against Hadden, because he had induced patients to cross state lines to his office, where he sexually assaulted them. In 2023, he was convicted on federal charges, receiving 20 years in prison.

The settlements come from 576 legal cases against Columbia, the hospital and others over Hadden’s abuse; the average payout to plaintiffs will be about $1.3 million, according to Anthony DiPietro, the plaintiffs’ lawyer. Previously, Columbia agreed to $277 million in settlements with more than 200 other plaintiffs.

The DiPietro law firm filed the lawsuit against Columbia and 19 other defendants in January, citing 18 causes of action—including allegations of gender violence, sexual abuse, enabling criminal sexual battery, fraud, negligent supervision and violations of New York City human rights law, according to The Columbia Spectator, the student newspaper. The case alleged that Columbia and affiliates allowed Hadden’s abuse to continue for decades, despite being aware of misconduct, as well as that they’d covered up wrongdoing and interfered with investigations.

In November 2023, Columbia administrators issued a letter to Hadden’s victims, including promises to conduct an investigation of the university’s handling of complaints and a $100 million settlement fund for victims’ compensation, which the university launched in February 2024. Columbia extended the deadline for survivors to submit a claim to May 15 of this year.