Lawsuit claims Northwell Health worker installed hidden cameras in bathrooms, changing rooms
GREAT NECK, Long Island (WABC) -- Roughly 250 people have filed a civil lawsuit against Northwell Health after a worker allegedly installed hidden cameras in bathrooms and changing rooms at two facilities in Great Neck.
The lawsuit claims the healthcare network didn't do enough to stop the illegal recordings of the victims, which include numerous children.
Northwell Health employee Sanjai Syamaprasad allegedly recorded patients and visitors in various states of nudity and undress for almost two years between August 2022 and April 2024.
He has already pleaded guilty, but the plaintiffs say they don't believe justice has been served.
The lawsuit alleges that Northwell Health waited more than a year to notify its patients who were exposed to the hidden cameras.
Brenda Pellettieri, a former employee at the Northwell Sleep Disorder Center in Manhassset, was the very first to spearhead the class action lawsuit against Northwell back in October over the incidents at both the sleep center and the STARS Rehabilitation Center in the same building.
"I mean it's devastating, you find out that you've been on videotape, someone you trusted, your co-worker has been videotaping you? I mean, it's terrible," Pellettieri said.
Syamaprasad, 48, pleaded guilty earlier this month to recording five people, including a child, by placing the hidden cameras in smoke detectors that he would then remove each day.
Pellettieri is believed to be one of as many as 13,000 people impacted represented by the firm German Rubenstein. But now another class action suit with a second firm, Merson Law, was announced Wednesday.
"But ultimately, this case is about Northwell ignoring a very serious breach of privacy that was going on right under their noses," said plaintiff attorney Nathan Werksman.
The latest firm claims they've now heard from at least 250 people who received letters from Northwell stating they may have been recorded.
"I feel that there's probably video of everybody out there somewhere who was at the Northwell sleep lab when he was there," Pellettieri said.
In a statement, a Northwell spokesperson said they were "deeply disturbed" when they first learned of the case and that they promptly reported his conduct to the DA's office, immediately revoked his access to the premises and fully cooperated.
Separetely, Weill Cornell Medicine said Syamaprasad was a former part-time employee in 2024.
"We became aware of alleged suspicious behavior by a former part-time employee in April 2024," the statement said. "We acted immediately to protect our patients and employees and reported the alleged conduct to law enforcement and the state licensing authority and have been cooperating with the police investigation. Currently,we are not aware of any patients or employees who have been impacted by the former employee's alleged conduct. We remain committed to the protection of our patients and employees."
As the lawsuits pile on, so does the frustration from the plaintiffs.
Syamaprasad is expected to get just five years of probation. The DA had recommended one to three years in prison.
He returns to court for sentencing on September 15.
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