Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital have agreed to a new $750 million settlement with hundreds of former patients of a gynecologist convicted and sentenced for sex crimes.

The deal was approved by the court on Monday and announced that evening by the law firm representing the settlement’s 576 patient plaintiffs. Alongside earlier settlements , it now marks more than $1 billion secured from Columbia over former gynecologist Robert Hadden—which the firm described as “a new record for patients in cases involving institutional cover-ups of medical neglect.”

The abuse occurred while Hadden worked at Columbia’s affiliate hospitals, including NewYork-Presbyterian’s flagship Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

In a statement, a university spokesperson confirmed the settlement amount and said it was “another step forward in our ongoing work and commitment to repair harm and support survivors” of the former physician’s actions.

"We commend the survivors for their bravery in coming forward," they said.

Hadden, who has not worked as a doctor since 2012, pleaded guilty to a single count of a criminal sexual act in the third degree and forcible touching in a deal with the Manhattan district attorney’s office that cost Hadden his medical license but allowed him to avoid jail time.

He was indicted by federal prosecutors in 2020, and then in 2023 was convicted for inducing four patients to cross state lines for examinations in which he sexually assaulted them. Later that year, he was sentenced to the statutory maximum of 20 years in prison.

The plaintiffs’ representation, The DiPietro Law Firm, opened its case against the university in 2012.

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During that roughly 13-year process, the firm said it had uncovered a letter from a Columbia department chair outlining the university’s alleged knowledge of Hadden’s misconduct as far back as 1995, which it said were “a stark contradiction to Columbia’s public claims of ignorance about what Robert Hadden was doing to patients in private examination rooms.” The firm also, at one point, secured a restraining order related to a $100 million settlement fund created by the university that required the patients to waive their right to sue.

“For far too long, Columbia and New York-Presbyterian have prioritized protecting their reputations over protecting their patients,” Anthony DiPietro, the firm’s founder, said in Monday’s announcement. “This settlement sends a powerful message that we’re here to ensure that institutions covering up exploitation and abuse will be held fully accountable for their crimes.”

Columbia’s $100 million fund was part of a “multi-pronged plan” it announced in 2023 to make good with Hadden’s victims and implement changes to prevent future abuse. This included letters to Hadden’s nearly 6,500 former patients informing them of the sentencing, a commitment to an external investigation “to thoroughly examine the circumstances and failures that allowed Hadden’s abuse to continue,” and the launch of a center for patient safety that would engage outside experts to review current practices.