Virginia hospital sued for $1.2bn over alleged unnecessary surgeries
More than 500 women are taking Chesapeake Regional Medical Center in Virginia to court, claiming the hospital let a gynecologist, Javaid Perwaiz, perform unnecessary surgeries on them.
They're asking for $5.1 billion in damages, specifying $10 million each for 510 women, and say hospital leaders turned a blind eye even though they knew what was happening.
Perwaiz is already serving 59 years for medical fraud after carrying out needless procedures—like hysterectomies—mainly on women with Medicaid, and even falsifying pregnant patients' due dates so he could induce labor early to suit his own schedule.
Why this matters and what could change
The lawsuit says the hospital's failure to act caused lasting harm to many women, both physically and emotionally.
This all came to light thanks to an FBI tip-off that led to Perwaiz's arrest in 2019 and him losing his medical license in 2020.
If these women win their case, it could push hospitals everywhere to keep a closer watch on doctors—and make it easier for others harmed by medical negligence to speak up.