Docs: Weill Cornell Medicine to pay more than $1 billion to patients of former LI urologist Darius Paduch, convicted of sexual abuse

Weill Cornell Medicine has acknowledged in an agreement with federal authorities that it will pay more than $1 billion in civil settlements related to sexual abuse by former Long Island urologist Darius Paduch, a confidential settlement released Monday shows.

The dollar amount was revealed in an official admission that the hospital group knew about Paduch’s troubling behavior for years, but continued to allow him to treat young men and boys suffering from infertility and sexual dysfunction without acting.

Weill Cornell officials did not immediately say how the medical group would pay for the settlements.

Cornell “acknowledges that the policies and programs that WCM had in place at the time of Paduch’s offenses to detect, prevent, and respond to sexual abuse of patients were not adequate and failed to detect and sufficiently respond to Paduch’s conduct,” the agreement said.

Additionally, the medical group will earmark $30 million to establish the WCM Institute for Safe Patient Care and Patient Empowerment to promote better collaboration between hospitals, patient advocates, law enforcement and regulators.

The settlement agreement falls under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in public places.

Prosecutors believe he abused more than 50 patients at Weill Cornell as early as 2009.

In 2006, an internal review referred to him as a “volatile” doctor who “makes a poor work environment.”

From 2012 to 2014, staffers reported him using inappropriate sexual language and behavior, such as exposing his backside, according to the government settlement.

In 2015, another urologist told the head of the hospital’s urology department that a patient accused Paduch of sexually manipulating a patient under the guise of treatment, prosecutors said, but the administrator did nothing after the former doctor denied it.

After another patient complained he was sexually molested to the New York State Board of Professional Medical Conduct in 2018, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In response, prosecutors said, administrators assigned inexperienced staffers to investigate and didn’t mention previous complaints.

Still, an internal investigation revealed Paduch waived $50,000 in medical bills of one patient who accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior, prosecutors said.

As punishment for his years of misconduct, Weill Cornell’s head of urology denied Paduch renewal to the faculty in 2019.

When Paduch moved on to Northwell, prosecutors said, the urology chair recommended him with “some reservations,” but didn’t disclose the reasons or the patient complaints.

The former doctor is currently serving life in prison for his 2024 conviction on six counts of sexual abuse of patients.

During the trial, the mother of one of the victims testified Paduch texted her teenage son personal questions about his sex life as part of a grooming process to gain the boy’s trust.

As many as 800 lawsuits against Weill Cornell and Northwell for Paduch’s behavior, claiming assault and battery, negligence and intentional infliction of severe emotional distress.

“Our clients have said all along that Weill Cornell administrators knew about Darius Paduch’s crimes  — instead of protecting patients, they protected Paduch,” attorney Anthony DiPietro said. “Today’s announcement sends a clear message to medical institutions across the country that they will be held accountable for criminal cover-ups.”

Under the agreement, Weill Cornell must set up a panel to continuously monitor sexual misconduct and risks and must conduct periodic reviews until 2031.

“This resolution is a significant step forward for us in addressing our former faculty member’s misconduct,” hospital spokeswoman Sarah Smith said in an email. “Today, Weill Cornell Medicine is a safer organization. Under new executive leadership, we have enacted significant reforms in patient safety and reporting protocols to ensure we provide the very best care to all those who place their trust in us.”

Northwell and federal prosecutors did not respond to questions regarding a similar  acknowledgment and agreement with the Long Island medical group.

“Protecting the patients who place their trust in us remains our highest priority, and we fully supported [the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office] in its criminal investigation of Dr. Darius Paduch’s reprehensible conduct. We have no further comment at this time,” Northwell spokeswoman Barbara Osborn said in an email.