Weill Cornell Medicine has entered into a voluntary compliance agreement under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, following a criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, according to a July 27 announcement. The agreement requires Weill Cornell Medicine to maintain and enhance measures and procedures aimed at preventing sexual abuse of patients.
Criminal Division Chief Amanda Houle said, “Today’s landmark agreement with WCM is a direct reflection of our Office’s pledge to prioritize combating sexual abuse through a victim-centered approach. When victims are front of mind for our core community institutions—including in healthcare—sexual abuse is better detected, reported, and prosecuted so that perpetrators are held responsible and others are deterred. Today’s agreement shows the benefits to victims when we pair criminal accountability for individual perpetrators with institutional obligations to maintain the strongest possible controls to safeguard against future sexual abuse. Thanks to the work of our dedicated Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Darius Paduch is spending his life in prison for his horrific crimes and, importantly, WCM, a leader in healthcare for New Yorkers, is committed to maintaining an industry-leading sexual-abuse prevention program and to self-reporting any future federal crimes involving sexual misconduct to our Office.”
The agreement follows findings that during physician Darius Paduch’s tenure from at least 2009 through 2019, Weill Cornell Medicine maintained policies insufficient to detect or prevent widespread patient sexual abuse. Investigations revealed failures in escalation and reporting protocols regarding complaints about Paduch’s conduct from colleagues and patients alike.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said, “As the public has seen time and again, when medical institutions fail to implement and enforce robust safeguards to protect patients from sexual abuse, victims suffer unspeakable harms, and the public trust in the doctor-patient relationship is undermined… Today’s agreement sends a strong clear message… patient sexual abuse should never happen in our healthcare system.”
As part of its remedial actions under this new agreement, Weill Cornell Medicine will commit $30 million toward establishing an Institute for Safe Patient Care and Patient Empowerment dedicated to adopting risk mitigation policies across New York State providers as well as nationwide. The institution must also conduct regular internal reviews evaluating its prevention programs and certify compliance semiannually.
The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marguerite B. Colson, Elizabeth A. Espinosa, Ni Qian, and David J. Kennedy within the Civil Rights and Human Trafficking Unit.