After years of litigation, Endeavor Health has settled the last batch of pending lawsuits filed by patients who allege they were sexually abused by former obstetrician/gynecologist Dr. Fabio Ortega – bringing the total number of lawsuits the health system has settled over the matter to more than 75.
Twenty-three lawsuits against Endeavor involving Ortega settled Tuesday. Those are in addition to 32 lawsuits settled in late December and 22 settled between 2019 and 2023. Another eight lawsuits brought against Ortega and Swedish Hospital, which Endeavor acquired in 2020, also reached settlements.
Though the settlement amounts were not disclosed in court documents, Endeavor revealed in a financial statement in November that it was spending $453 million on “costs, expenses and settlement of claims” related to a doctor accused of sexually abusing patients. The financial statement did not name the doctor at the time, and Endeavor has declined to say which or how many cases the $453 million covers.
Attorney Tamara Holder, who represented the majority of the women who sued over Ortega, declined to comment Wednesday. Holder represented the plaintiffs who settled in December, along with her co-counsels Johanna Raimond and Stephan Blandin of Romanucci & Blandin, and most of those who settled in previous years.
Bryce Hensley with Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley, who represented 22 former Ortega patients that reached settlements Tuesday, did not respond to a request for comment.
An Endeavor spokesperson said Wednesday that Endeavor “is unable to comment” on the cases or any resolutions. Ortega worked at Endeavor, previously called NorthShore University HealthSystem, until August 2017. Before working at Endeavor, Ortega worked at Swedish Hospital, which is now part of Endeavor. Attempts to reach Ortega for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.
Those who sued Endeavor, Swedish and Ortega alleged that the doctor sexually abused them during exams and appointments, groping them, performing unnecessary or inappropriate vaginal exams or asking inappropriate questions. Ortega was charged criminally in Cook County and pleaded guilty to felony aggravated criminal sexual abuse of two patients in 2021.
Some patients also contended in their lawsuits that the hospital systems where Ortega worked failed to protect them from the abuse despite previous complaints from other patients. A Chicago Tribune investigation published last year described how Endeavor allowed Ortega to continue providing care despite multiple complaints, including while he was under police investigation for sexual misconduct with a patient.
Following the Tribune’s investigation, Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill into law addressing a legal loophole identified by the Tribune’s reporting: that allegations of abuse occurring outside a hospital setting did not have to be reported to the state.
Endeavor is one of the largest health systems in the Chicago area with nine hospitals, and $5.6 billion in revenue in 2023.
Endeavor reported a $339 million loss for the three months that ended Sept. 30 in its most recent financial statement, with much of that attributable to the $453 million in settlement costs. Endeavor also recently announced plans to eliminate inpatient psychiatric services at Northwest Community Hospital, affecting about 100 of its employees, and to lay off an additional “small number of individuals” across the health system. Endeavor said at the time it was cutting the psychiatric services at Northwest Community because of a decrease in demand and an increased focus on outpatient telehealth services.
Endeavor said in a statement in January, as it announced the changes, that it was “facing significant cost pressures and headwinds that require our organization to adapt and think differently about how we maximize our talent and resources to operate effectively.”
