A Chicago law firm is decrying a \u201cplague\u201d of privacy violations across the region after patients filed suit against a Batavia chiropractor, alleging he secretly videotaped them during treatment while they were partially or fully undressed.<\/p>\n
Attorneys with the Romanucci & Blandin firm at a news conference Tuesday said they have filed two separate civil lawsuits in recent weeks against businesses for allegedly using their operations to secretly record people. The firm is also investigating reports of similar cases at two other Chicago-area businesses.<\/p>\n
The latest complaint, involving two adults and two children, was filed against west suburban chiropractor David Hanson and his business, Hanson Family Chiropractic.<\/p>\n
Romanucci & Blandin filed the suit Monday in Kane County Circuit Court on behalf of the patients, which include two women and two children from the same family spanning three generations, the family\u2019s attorneys said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur family is in complete disbelief that someone we turned to for help and healing appears to have violated us in this way,\u201d one of the complainants, identified as Jane Doe 1, said in a statement. \u201cAnd for so many members of our own family to be exploited raises serious questions about how many others may have also been harmed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Kane County state\u2019s attorney\u2019s office filed numerous criminal charges<\/a> against Hanson earlier this month after a joint investigation between its child exploitation unit and Batavia police determined he had secretly recorded more than 180 patients while they were undressed. The videos date back to 2017, with victims including both children and adults, prosecutors said. Victims were mostly female, the charges state. Hanson remains jailed while his case is pending trial.<\/p>\n Hanson\u2019s attorney did not immediately answer the Tribune\u2019s requests for comment.<\/p>\n The complaint filed against Hanson this week lays out 32 counts of alleged wrongdoing \u2014 eight counts alleged for each plaintiff \u2014 ranging from invasion of privacy and negligence by Hanson and his practice to intentional infliction of emotional distress. The suit seeks at least $50,000 in damages for each plaintiff.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen a person seeks medical treatment, there is an assumption of trust,\u201d attorney Sarah Raisch, of Romanucci & Blandin, told reporters Tuesday. \u201cThat the provider is there to help them and improve their quality of life. Nothing seems further from the truth at Hanson Family Chiropractic.\u201d<\/p>\n Jane Doe 1 and her two children, a boy and girl identified as Child Doe 1 and Child Doe 2, started receiving treatment from Hanson in 2018, according to their complaint. The fourth plaintiff, a woman identified as Jane Doe 2, started receiving treatment in 2020.<\/p>\n Treatments the plaintiffs received included near-infrared light therapy and red light therapy, noninvasive care that involves a patient either changing into a medical gown or taking their clothes off entirely, the complaint states.<\/p>\n The complaint alleges that sometime during or before 2017, hidden video recording devices were placed in vents and fans throughout the offices of Hanson Family Chiropractic, including in the room used for red light and near-infrared therapy. With the cameras, Hanson allegedly made recordings without patients\u2019 knowledge during treatment sessions, during which he\u2019d instruct patients to \u201cbend and stretch,\u201d the complaint states.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a huge violation of privacy and trust, and our clients have suffered immensely,\u201d attorney Daisy Ayll\u00f3n, also of Romanucci & Blandin, said Tuesday. Attorneys added they expect more lawsuits to be filed against Hanson and his practice, noting this is \u201cjust the first wave.\u201d<\/p>\n The suits are only the latest accusation of secret recordings at area businesses. The complaint against Hanson comes after 11 former female employees of an Addison ice cream store filed a suit against its owner last month over allegations that he secretly recorded them in the store\u2019s bathroom<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the wake of the string of alleged violations, attorneys called for systemic change.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re likening this to a plague,\u201d attorney Antonio Romanucci said. \u201cIt\u2019s a plague that is afflicting our communities. It\u2019s a plague that can\u2019t be fixed or solved with a vaccine. \u2026 So we have to figure out a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond charges and complaints, that solution, Romanucci maintained, will require \u201ccivil justice\u201d by strengthening state law.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need legislative action to create systemic accountability and change,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n State Rep. Curtis Tarver II, who represents the 25th District, announced Tuesday that he will be introducing the Protect Children from Hidden Cameras bill next month.<\/p>\n The legislation, which Tarver said he plans to submit in January, would prohibit hidden cameras from places people expect to have privacy, including bathrooms, locker rooms and medical treatment rooms. It also would require safety inspections to include screening for hidden cameras and require on-site disclosure anywhere a business records customers or employees, Tarver said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m disgusted by the allegations of what happened,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m appalled.\u201d<\/p>\n