Plastic surgeon secretly filmed patients during examinations: court ordered him to pay $22.5 million
In Canada, a plastic surgeon from Toronto was ordered to pay $22.5 million after an investigation found that he filmed patients without their consent, reports People.
In the ruling, Judge Paul Chabas noted that Dr. Martin Jugenburg knowingly "violated patients' right to privacy" by installing more than two dozen cameras at the Toronto Cosmetic Surgery Institute. Some of them were located in "private areas where the plaintiffs had a reasonable expectation of privacy."
"His conduct as a doctor was disgraceful," Judge Chabas stated.
The decision was the result of a class-action lawsuit filed in 2019 against the doctor. The lawsuit was based on the findings of an undercover journalistic investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) conducted in 2018.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two former Jugenburg patients, identified in court documents as G.C. and J.C., as well as all patients who visited the Toronto Cosmetic Surgery Institute from January 1, 2012, to February 28, 2019. Both women sought consultations with the doctor regarding breast augmentation.
The court ruling states that 24 cameras were installed in the clinic in registration and waiting areas, corridors, staff rooms, workspaces, consultation and injection rooms, the operating room, and the recovery ward.
The cameras recorded around the clock, and live streams from all devices were accessible via an app on Dr. Jugenburg's smartphone. The judge emphasized that patients were not properly informed about the presence of cameras by either the doctor or his staff.
"There were no warning signs in the clinic, including in consultation and examination rooms where patients often had to undress. Neither Dr. Jugenburg nor his employees informed patients about the installed cameras," the judge wrote.
Chabas also noted that after the surveillance system was exposed, Jugenburg claimed the cameras were installed solely for security reasons and showed no remorse.
"Such behavior deserves condemnation and punishment by the court," he emphasized.
The court ordered Jugenburg to pay a total of $22.5 million: $21.5 million as collective compensation to the plaintiffs and an additional $1 million in punitive damages.
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