Families Sue Doctor and Hospitals Over Patient Images

On November 4, in federal court in Michigan, families of 13 children sued Sack, a pediatric urology specialist, and the hospital systems Mercy Health – St. Vincent Medical Center and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The proposed class action alleges Sack photographed or recorded children’s genitals beyond legitimate medical needs and stored clinical images on personal devices and cloud accounts. The children were treated mainly at Nationwide Children’s Toledo facility, and some were infants or toddlers.

The complaint says some examinations and operations took place while children were undressed, separated from parents or under anesthesia. It also alleges hospital safeguards were inadequate, including policies on chaperones, personal phones and storage of patient images. The families say the hospitals failed to properly monitor systems and respond to concerns.

An FBI affidavit cited in the lawsuit says Sack’s Dropbox account held 1,291 digital items that federal law categorizes as child pornography, along with 27,864 additional files characterized as involving children in age-inappropriate or exploitative contexts. The account also contained more than 850 gigabytes of data, including videos and images of pediatric procedures. An attorney for the families said it remains unclear whether patient images were shared or which children appear in them.

Sack has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of receiving and possessing child pornography. Nationwide Children’s fired him in February 2026 and said law enforcement had informed the hospital that the accusations did not concern his medical practice. The civil plaintiffs seek at least $5 million in combined damages and ask the court to require preservation and identification of patient images. They seek to represent potentially 1,000 to 2,500 patients. Sack’s criminal trial is scheduled for January 12, 2027.