PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — OHSU says they have settled a lawsuit against them and former resident Dr. Jason Campbell for sexual harassment.
A $585,000 settlement was reached in the lawsuit that was filed for $45 million on behalf of a former coworker of Campbell’s.
The 39-page complaint alleges that Campbell sent the woman unwanted, sexually explicit text messages, “pornographic photographs” and “sexually charged social media messages.”
“Campbell texted my client about (an) orgasm and then blamed it on auto-correct,” said attorney Michael Fuller, who is representing the woman in the suit.
Campbell also allegedly approached the woman from behind in her office and pressed his body against hers, according to the suit.
The woman reported the incident to the VA Hospital security sent Campbell a text message asking him to stop. But Campbell continued to send her text messages, with one saying, “I just want to hug you from behind without you yelling at me.”
All this happened while Campbell had a girlfriend, according to the suit.
The suit also claims that a handful of other doctors and employees in leadership roles took no action to stop the harassment, violating Title IX rules.
Fuller said that some of the doctors, including Dr. Esther Choo, who has 189,000 followers on Twitter, praised Campbell on social media even after she was reportedly told about the harassment.
“Dr. Choo continued to be buddy-buddy with him,” he said.
In a statement, OHSU said that university “does not condone” the behavior described in the suit.
“We are continuously working to to evolve our culture, policies and practices to provide an environment where all learners, employees, patients and visitors feel safe and welcome.”
Fuller said OHSU had the opportunity to do something about it but said they didn’t ” because these institutions are run by high-paid executives, whose job it is to keep peace and quiet.”
He said when a complaint is filed “they get the lawyers involved right away…And so from our perspective, they just don’t have the proper incentive to change their system. And that’s in part why we’re asking for punitive damages.”
Campbell was most recently hired at the University of Florida’s teaching hospital. Once the hospital learned of the allegations, he was placed on administrative leave.
OHSU hired former US Attorney Eric Holder to conduct an investigation into workplace culture.
In a statement about the settlement, they said “OHSU offers sincere apologies to the plaintiff and others who have been harmed. OHSU recognizes the need to address systemic structures that allow inappropriate and damaging behavior to exist, and is committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment that is free of harassment and discrimination. Plaintiff would like to thank those who supported her during this process.”