Adventist Health Sonora has agreed to pay $18.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by women who alleged a former physical therapist sexually abused them during treatment at the California hospital and its outpatient clinics. The settlement, announced Sept. 23 by the women's attorneys, works out to about $2.64 million for each of the seven surviving plaintiffs.
The women alleged that Jason Elias, a longtime physical therapist at Adventist Health in Sonora, abused them under the guise of treatment and that hospital employees failed to act on earlier reports. The agreement includes no admission of liability by Adventist Health, the women's attorney told The Union Democrat. Elias has not been criminally charged over the allegations in the lawsuit.
