MedStar Health faces lawsuit over doctor's alleged sexual misconduct with 100+ victims
A former patient has sued MedStar Health and a former rheumatologist, alleging the health system failed to act despite reports that the physician sexually harassed patients. The complaint was filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for Maryland, two months after James C. Roberson II was suspended from practicing medicine in the state.
The Maryland Board of Physicians said in their suspension order that their investigation found his interactions with several patients violated the board's sexual misconduct regulations, constituting "immoral and unprofessional conduct."
The lawsuit alleges that MedStar Health failed to monitor Roberson's conduct and allowed him continued access to vulnerable patients. The lawsuit brings six civil counts against MedStar including negligence, negligent hiring, negligent supervision and retention, premises' liability, vicarious liability, and concealment.
MedStar, which suspended and fired Roberson in 2024, said in a statement that Roberson's "inappropriate personal conduct violated the foundational trust placed in him by his patients, by MedStar Health, and by the laws and ethics of his profession."
"We're grateful to those patients who came forward - we know it took a great deal of courage for them to do so," the healthcare organization said, adding that it suspended Roberson "immediately" after hearing a patient's concerns about his behavior, and fired him after an investigation.
"We will never tolerate inappropriate behavior by our providers, and we will always act quickly to address any allegations of misconduct brought to our attention," the statement says.
The plaintiffs are represented by a team of attorneys from Baltimore-based firms Brockstedt Mandalas Federico (BMF) LLC and Keilty Bonadio.
According to one of the attorneys, the size of the class of plaintiffs will depend on how the class is defined but estimated "certainly more than 100" patients could have claims. The complaints claim that the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit began treatment with Roberson in 2021 or 2022 at the orthopedic institute at MedStar Health Medical Center at Brandywine.
At multiple appointments, she was allegedly subject to "inappropriate and repeated breast 'exams' without clinical indication; full-body massages with lotion; and inappropriate touching of the vaginal area under the guise of medical assessment."
According to the complaint, she initially thought the examinations were medically necessary because she was seeking treatment for severe pain and distress from SjΓΆgren's syndrome. "He was clearly doing it for self-pleasure," Philip C. Federico, Partner at BMF, said. "It got to the point where he couldn't restrain himself sexually; it went further and further until he was appropriately disciplined." The proposed class action lawsuit accused MedStar of negligence saying it failed to act on "warning signs and red flags ... indicative of immoral conduct."
People familiar with the matter criticized the Maryland Board of Physicians for their response when a complaint was first filed in 2018. The Board reportedly responded to initial complaints by issuing an advisory letter and not taking further corrective action.
According to reporting by WUSA9 and FOX 5 DC, there have been more than 100 alleged victims across Maryland and Virginia, with claims that include inappropriate touching, medically unnecessary examinations, and repeated conduct that patients describe as violations of professional boundaries carried out under the guise of routine care.
Federico, who has represented sexual abuse victims of Delaware pediatrician Earl Bradley and the Johns Hopkins Hospital gynecologist Nikita Levy in civil court, said that MedStar has so far been "very cooperative" with the civil attorneys' investigation.
He said that he's dealt with the organization "in the setting of typical medical malpractice" litigation and believes that it's a "frontline corporate medical leader in our community."
