More than 600 women are suing Chesapeake Regional Medical Center in connection to unnecessary and harmful gynecological surgeries performed by convicted former doctor Javaid Perwaiz, with the lawsuit now seeking more than $6 billion in damages.
The number of plaintiffs has grown by more than 100 women since the original filing last week, which included about 500 victims.
Perwaiz has been serving a 59-year federal prison sentence since 2021 for healthcare fraud tied to irreversible hysterectomies, improper sterilizations, and other medically unnecessary surgeries performed on hundreds of women at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center.
Niki Murry is among the women who was named as a plaintiff in the original lawsuit. She said Perwaiz performed a C-section and a Dilation and Curettage procedure on her.
"He gave me a C-section. He also done a D&C on me for some reason. But it's like ever since I got the D&C, I've been having like bad problems with my menstrual," Murry said.
Shantel Boone was one of the new women added to the lawsuit this week. She said she received an unnecessary hysterectomy from Perwaiz in 2017. The procedure left her unable to have any more children and forced her into early menopause in her early 30s.
"No. I do not have a Uterus. Immediately, early 30s, went into straight menopause. Night sweats, hormonal mood swings, just feeling depressed. And, I lost my husband. So when you think about starting over, I don't have that option to do so if I wanted to," Boone said.
The updated lawsuit now names five Chesapeake Regional Medical Center CEOs as defendants, up from three in the original filing.
Medical malpractice attorney Anthony DiPietro, who represents the women, said the hospital leadership was aware of Perwaiz's actions for decades.
"The CEOs of CRMC knew for decades what Perwaiz was doing. But instead of protecting patients, they wanted to just protect their bottom line and their profits," DiPietro said.
Last week, a spokesperson from Chesapeake Regional Medical Center responded to the lawsuit, stating that Perwaiz was never an employee of Chesapeake Regional Healthcare and that hospital staff did not know about his actions.
Boone described the ongoing impact of the unnecessary surgery on her life.
"The emotional abuse, the physical stuff that I go through…I'm not supposed to be going through what I'm going through this early," Boone said.
Even since running the story about the updated lawsuit on Wednesday, News 3 has heard from more than half a dozen women seeking more information about joining the lawsuit. If you think you may have been a victim of Perwaiz, call Medical Malpractice trial attorney Anthony DiPietro at 212-233-3600.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
