Darius Paduch Settlements: Payouts, Defendants, and Criminal Case

Public information on Darius Paduch settlements is limited because the agreements are confidential, but one plaintiffs’ firm, Gersowitz Libo & Korek, reported in November 2024 that it had secured more than $3 million in total settlements for Paduch’s victims, with individual recoveries in the “high six and seven figures.”¹ That figure covers only one firm’s clients. More than 300 civil lawsuits remain pending against Paduch, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Northwell Health, and additional settlements are expected as those cases move forward.²

What Has Been Paid So Far

The $3 million-plus figure from Gersowitz Libo & Korek is the only publicly disclosed settlement total tied to the Paduch cases. The firm described individual recoveries as ranging from the high six figures to seven figures, but did not identify the defendants who paid, the number of victims covered, or the terms.¹ Settlements in sexual abuse litigation are typically negotiated under nondisclosure terms, so per-victim amounts in other cases have not been made public.

Restitution in the criminal case is a separate track. When U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams sentenced Paduch to life in prison on November 20, 2024, she ordered restitution in an amount to be determined later.³ Criminal restitution runs alongside, not instead of, civil recovery.

Who Is Being Sued

The civil complaints name Paduch individually and the two institutions that employed him: NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, where he worked for 17 years until March 2020, and Northwell Health, where he practiced until his arrest in April 2023.⁴ Plaintiffs allege the hospitals were negligent in supervising Paduch, failed to investigate internal complaints, and failed to protect patients from foreseeable harm.²

One early complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court accused NewYork-Presbyterian of holding Paduch out as a vetted employee while providing the facilities and equipment he used to carry out the abuse.⁵ Other cases filed under New York’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law allege the hospitals failed to implement proper background checks, oversight, and reporting procedures.⁶

Plaintiffs are seeking compensation for medical and mental health expenses, lost income, and emotional distress. One firm partner alone represents more than 100 victims, and an attorney handling 140 cases told NBC News that Paduch may have abused “hundreds, if not thousands, of patients.”⁷⁴

Why So Many Cases Were Filed

Two New York laws temporarily lifted statutes of limitations for sexual abuse survivors and allowed the volume of Paduch claims to be filed. The Child Victims Act, enacted in 2019, opened a lookback window for people abused as children. The Adult Survivors Act, signed by Governor Kathy Hochul in May 2022, created a separate one-year window for people who were 18 or older at the time of the alleged abuse.⁸⁹¹⁰

Both lookback windows have now closed. Any future extension would require new legislation, so victims who did not file during the open windows may face standard statute-of-limitations defenses.

What Happens Next

The civil litigation is expected to continue for years. Experts cited in late 2023 estimated that individual trials could take two to five years from the filing date.¹⁰ With more than 300 lawsuits on file and a jury having already convicted Paduch on 11 federal counts, plaintiffs enter civil proceedings with a criminal record they can point to. Most of the remaining cases will likely resolve through confidential settlements rather than public verdicts, which means dollar figures beyond the Gersowitz Libo & Korek disclosure may never be reported in full.

The Criminal Case Behind the Civil Exposure

Paduch was arrested on April 11, 2023, and a superseding indictment in October 2023 broadened the case to 13 counts covering eight victims, adults and minors alike.¹¹¹² On May 8, 2024, a jury convicted him on all 11 counts submitted to it: six counts of inducing a person to travel to engage in unlawful sexual activity and five counts of inducing a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity.³ Trial evidence covered abuse from at least 2007 through at least 2019 at the two hospitals now named as civil defendants. Eleven victims testified at trial, and dozens more submitted impact statements at sentencing. Paduch’s attorney, Michael Baldassare, said he plans to appeal.¹³

1
LawyerTime. Over $3 Million Settlements Secured for Victims of Dr. Darius Paduch
2
Lawfirm.com. Dr. Darius Paduch Sexual Abuse Lawsuits
3
U.S. Department of Justice. Former Urologist at Prominent Medical Institutions Sentenced to Life in Prison for Sexual Abuse
4
NBC News. Star Urologist Preyed on Men and Boys. Why Didn’t Hospitals Stop the Abuse?
5
PCVA. Complaint, Doe 1 v. Dr. Darius Paduch and New York-Presbyterian Hospital
6
Columbia Daily Herald. Lawsuit Filed Against New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medicine Alleging Sexual Abuse by Physician
7
PCVA. PCVA Files 19 More Sex Abuse Lawsuits Against Urologist Dr. Darius Paduch
8
Governor of New York. Governor Hochul Signs Adult Survivors Act
9
CNN. New York Adult Survivors Act Window Expires
10
The 19th. New York Adult Survivors Act Sexual Assault
11
Becker’s Hospital Review. New York Physician Arrested, Charged With Sexual Abuse of Patients
12
U.S. Department of Justice. Urologist Charged in Superseding Indictment With Sexually Abusing Eight Patients
13
Cornell Daily Sun. Former Weill Cornell Professor Sentenced to Life in Prison for Sexually Abusing Patients