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Another Lawsuit Accuses Dr. Melvin Levine Of Abuse

A new lawsuit was filed yesterday in Suffolk Superior Court by 11 North Carolina residents against Children's Hospital Boston alleging sexual abuse by Dr. Melvin Levine, the renowned former pediatrician who committed suicide last month.

After practicing at Children's from 1966-1985, Levine joined the UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine and maintained a pediatric medical practice there, the lawsuit says; in 2009, Levine signed a Consent Order, agreeing to surrender permanently his medical license.

The plaintiffs in this recent case are not part of the class action suit that Durso filed against Children's Hospital Boston and Levine (now against Levine's estate) last month, Durso said. The claim against Children's in this case, is "because of what the hospital failed to do in their supervision of Levine," Durso said. "As a result of Children's several failures," the lawsuit says. "Melvin Levine was able to treat, and to sexually abuse," these 11 North Carolina plaintiffs.

Durso says that to date, 75 Massachusetts and North Carolina patients (some who are plaintiffs in the lawsuits, some not) have alleged that they were sexually abused as young patients of Levine. Specifically, the lawsuit says Levine "performed genital examinations on them which were not medically indicated."

This program aired on March 29, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.

Headshot of Rachel Zimmerman

Rachel Zimmerman Reporter
Rachel Zimmerman previously reported on health and the intersection of health and business for WBUR. She is working on a memoir about rebuilding her family after her husband’s suicide. 

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