$125 Million Fund Set Up for Patient Recovery

A Macomb County judge approved the settlement of a class-action lawsuit involving up to 8,200 patients, whom the lawsuit claims Dr. Aejaz illicitly touched or filmed at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital.

Circuit Judge James Maceroni granted a $125-million settlement between the lead plaintiff, a Chesterfield Township woman identified as “Jane Doe,” and the Henry Ford Health System, including its Macomb hospital, for alleged acts by Dr. Oumair Aejaz, 41, of Rochester Hills. Aejaz admitted in criminal court that he molested victims in Oakland County.

Maceroni called the settlement and class certification “fair, adequate, and reasonable” for “a complicated, tragic matter.”

He praised attorneys on both sides for working together effectively and completing the settlement process quickly.

Legal Proceedings and Timeline

Chicago-based law firms Stinar Gould Grieco & Hensley and Bailey Glasser filed the lawsuit in September 2024, six weeks after authorities arrested Aejaz in Oakland County.

Authorities accuse Aejaz of sexually abusing and secretly videotaping patients at multiple facilities, including Henry Ford Macomb on 19 Mile Road in Clinton Township and an Oakland County swim school, over six years. His wife alerted authorities, who discovered over 13,000 videos on his electronic devices.

Aejaz faces 25 years in prison at his Dec. 2 hearing in Oakland County Circuit Court after pleading no contest to nearly three dozen sex-related and computer-related crimes for incidents from 2020 to 2023.

Attorneys Patrick Lannen and Parker Stinar said the number of class members grew from about 5,500 when the lawsuit was filed to 8,200. They discovered that Aejaz may have accessed additional Henry Ford patients who were not necessarily his own.

Lannen said several class-action members attended the hearing “because they support the settlement and want to see justice, and I think it really goes to the heart of what we’re doing,” according to the law.

Communication and Transparency Efforts

Henry Ford attorney Louis Gabel said the hospital created a website for the case. People visited it 3,000 times, and former Henry Ford patients made 900 calls to a dedicated toll-free number to get information or speak to a live person.

The 13-page class notice clearly describes members’ rights, their ability to opt out, and the settlement terms in plain English, Gabel said. “Henry Ford wanted to make it clear so everyone understood the terms and could decide whether to take advantage of the settlement or opt out.”

Angela Walker of Mount Clemens, who attended the hearing, said her mother, Loretta Washington, was a patient at the hospital during the relevant period. Washington has since died, but her estate may qualify for recovery in the class action.

Settlement Payments

Henry Ford will provide an initial $25-million payment to distribute $5,000, minus attorneys’ fees and costs, to each potential class member. The hospital will then pay another $100 million to members.

The case documents allocate $1 million to $2 million for patients who can prove Aejaz recorded them and sexually assaulted them through contact or penetration. The designated “special master” can award an additional $1.5 million to those who submit a statement of harm.

The court will award $75,000 to $275,000 to a lower tier of class members who were videorecorded “in a state of undress or in a sexualized manner” without physical contact.

Opt-Outs and Individual Lawsuits

At least three former patients who had contact with Aejaz opted out of the class-action case. They recently filed individual complaints in Macomb Circuit Court in Mount Clemens through the Fieger Law Firm. One plaintiff seeks $100 million in damages. One complaint details sexual contact by Aejaz, including digital penetration.