Former Merrick pediatrician Stuart Copperman's sexual abuse judgments total $1.6 billion for 104 women

A Nassau County court has awarded $1.6 billion to 104 women who alleged sexual abuse by former Merrick pediatrician Stuart Copperman, in what experts say is one of the largest judgments of its type in U.S. history.

Nassau Supreme Court Justice Leonard D. Steinman and special referees reviewed each case over the past 19 months and issued damages to every plaintiff who sued Copperman, 89, who did not present a defense to the suits. Decisions in the last five cases were filed on Friday.

The jurists considered the physical abuse and the psychological toll it took.

“This man ruined my life,” said Debra Zuckerwise, 67, who grew up in Merrick and fell into heroin addiction and what a social worker testified was post-traumatic stress disorder because of Copperman’s actions. She said she is now sober.

Zuckerwise, of Laguna Woods, California, said Copperman repeatedly sexually assaulted her starting at age 5. In January, special referee William Bodkin awarded her $25 million.

Newsday does not name alleged victims of sexual abuse without their consent. Zuckerwise agreed to use her name.

Newsday reached Copperman by phone in April 2024 and he declined to comment. He did not respond to further requests for comment, including on Monday. Copperman, whose medical license was revoked by the state in 2000, previously denied he sexually abused any patients.

Steinman wrote in a January 2023 ruling that because Copperman offered no response to the 104 civil suits, he was liable for sexual abuse in each case by default.

Attorneys are trying to recover as much money as possible from Copperman, although any amount would be a tiny fraction of the $1.599 billion assessed against him, said Kristen Gibbons Feden, a Philadelphia lawyer who represents the victims.

Even so, she said, “the large amount is truly critical” because, she said, it represents “the lifelong harm inflicted on these survivors.”

The $1.6 billion is "one of the largest civil judgments in a class action sexual assault suit that we have seen in our country,” Stefan Turkheimer, vice president for public policy for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, wrote in an email. “RAINN’s hope is that the survivors found justice in this result.”

Gibbons Feden said the case was never about the money.

“It was about truth,” she said. “It was about accountability and finally giving these survivors the voice they were denied for decades. What Copperman did to these children was really unspeakable.”

The women sued under the Child Victims Act, which allowed people abused sexually as children years ago to file suits through August 2021.

Before issuing damages for Zuckerwise, Bodkin wrote Copperman’s “abhorrent” sexual abuse of her “robbed Plaintiff of the ability to have a normal, happy life.”

Zuckerwise said she never would have become addicted to heroin had it not been for the severe trauma Copperman caused.

“I went to heroin because it helped to numb the pain,” she said. “I didn’t want to feel, I didn’t want to think. I didn’t want to know anything.”

Zuckerwise was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and spent time in 15 psychiatric hospitals and drug rehabilitation facilities, court records state. She said she is sharing her story publicly so others know what Copperman did to her and other girls, and so parents don't allow their children to be alone with their pediatricians.

Zuckerwise said she continues to endure the effects of Copperman's abuse, such as low self-esteem and problems with intimacy.

“He’s a monster,” she said of Copperman. “He did such damage to us girls.”

Michael Della, a Ronkonkoma attorney who also represents the plaintiffs, said he hoped the rulings would help deter other doctors from sexually abusing their patients.

“A big part of this was to shame Copperman and to let everyone know that if they behave this way toward innocent women and children, they'll be disgraced,” he said.

No criminal charges were filed against Copperman, although a teenage girl and her mother reported him to Nassau County police in 1984, documents show.

Copperman now lives in Boca Raton, Florida. He and his wife bought a home in Melville in 2003. But in 2019, several months after the Child Victims Act was enacted and allowed victims to recover damages for sexual abuse that occurred years before, he transferred his share of ownership to her, Suffolk County records show.

By David Olson

david.olson@newsday.com@DavidOlson11

David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.