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Plaintiff in lawsuit against Stuart Copperman awarded $22 million

Posted Tuesday, August 29, 2023 12:00 am

Stuart Copperman, a former pediatrician accused of abusing patients throughout his 40-year-long career, owned and operated this practice, above. A plaintiff in the lawsuit against him was awarded $22 million in a federal court on Friday.

Herald file

Understanding the Child's Victim Act

The Child Victims Act extended the period in which criminal charges can be brought against alleged abusers, from when the victim turns 23 to when he or she turns 28. The law also allows victims to pursue civil lawsuits any time before they turn 55. Lastly, it established a “revival” period, beginning in August 2019, that allowed victims to file civil lawsuits that would have been barred under the prior statute of limitations. That window closed in August 2021.

During that time, 104 women who claimed they were abused by Stuart Copperman filed lawsuits against him and his medical practice, Stuart Copperman, M.D.

By Jordan Vallone

A plaintiff in the lawsuit against Stuart Copperman, a former pediatrician accused of sexually abusing patients, who owned and operated a Merrick practice, was awarded $22 million in damages in a Mineola court last Friday. The poignant decision may set the tone for future proceedings.
On Aug. 25, a judge in the Nassau County Supreme Court system awarded the victim $17 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
The plaintiff awarded the sum of money is just one of 104 women who brought a civil lawsuit against Copperman, made possible by the New York State Child Victims Act (see box) signed into law by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in February 2019.
Copperman lost his medical license in 2000, after six women testified to the state Board of Professional Medical Conduct that he had molested them while they were patients of the medical practice he ran out of the basement of his Hewlett Avenue home. The lawsuit states that he abused his first victim in 1961, during his internship and residency, before he opened his practice in 1965.
According to court documents filed with the Nassau County clerk’s office on Jan. 6, Copperman did not submit any opposition papers in the case against him. The document reads, “Plaintiffs have submitted proof that the defaulting defendants were properly served. Defaulting defendants have failed to timely answer the complaint within the statutory period or otherwise appear and no request for an extension of time has been made.”

The Herald’s attempt to reach Copperman’s last known attorney was unsuccessful and a case search on New York’s Unified Court System’s website, NYCourts.gov, showed Copperman was unrepresented.
Because Copperman did not defend himself in the case, a legal inquest was deemed necessary in order to determine damages. The first inquest hearing, for the victim, awarded $22 million, took place on Aug. 8.
Victims have been jointly represented by law firms Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky as well as Gruenberg Kelly Della, since 2021.

The first inquest hearing took place on Aug. 8 for the victim who was awarded the $22 million. Documents from the hearing, filed with the county’s clerks office on Aug. 25 and shared with the Herald by Kristen Gibbons Feden, who heads the Survivors of Sexual Abuse unit at Saltz Mongeluzzi, state that the plaintiff was a 41-year-old female, who was a patient of Copperman. For approximately 18 years, the plaintiff was subject to several acts of abuse.

An expert witness, a psychotherapist, was present at the hearing.

“Although (the) plaintiff felt confusion by such examinations and that something was ‘off,’ she never fully appreciated that Copperman’s actions constituted abuse until she was older and no longer Copperman’s patient,” the document reads. “The effect of the abuse was traumatic. As testified by (the) plaintiff’s expert, it resulted in a number of psychological disorders, including eating disorders, dissociative identity disorder and self injury.

“Copperman’s abuse has robbed the plaintiff of a normal, healthy and happy life,” it further states. “The court finds that the psychological scars resulting from the abuse are permanent.”

"These women, robbed of their innocence as children, have waited long enough," Gibbons Feden said. "Today, the court not only listens but acts, awarding this first survivor $17 million in compensatory damages and an unequivocal $5 million more in punitive damages, a firm strike against the predator that dared to prey upon these courageous women who preyed on these women when they were innocent children.”

"Copperman was not a kind, compassionate pediatrician — the public image he nurtured," Mike Della, a lawyer with Gruenberg Kelly Della said. "He was a monster doing barbaric things on his examination table to these children, irreparably destroying many lives.”

This is a breaking news story; more to follow.

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