“Adventist Health had repeated opportunities to stop the abuse, but chose not to act,” said Paul Llewellyn. “Multiple women told Adventist employees what happened to them. Not one of those reports went anywhere.”
Sonora, Calif. – California trial law firm Lewis & Llewellyn LLP has secured an $18.5 million settlement with Sonora Community Hospital d/b/a Adventist Health Sonora on behalf of seven women who alleged they were sexually abused by Jason Elias, a physical therapist who worked for decades at Adventist Health. According to the complaint, at least five Adventist Health employees witnessed or received reports of Elias’ sexual misconduct from multiple women, yet Adventist Health failed to investigate, increase supervision of Elias, or report him to law enforcement. The settlement is divided equally among the seven plaintiffs; the recovery amounts to approximately $2.64 million per woman, representing one of the nation’s largest per-plaintiff recoveries in a sexual abuse case involving a medical provider.
Key points at a glance
- Lewis & Llewellyn LLP obtains one of the largest per-plaintiff recoveries in a sexual abuse case involving a medical provider.
- Plaintiffs alleged Jason Elias, an employee of Adventist Health, sexually abused them under the guise of providing physical therapy, after gaining their trust and isolating them in private treatment rooms.
- Despite multiple Adventist employees allegedly being aware of Elias’ depraved misconduct, Adventist Health failed to act and continued to give him access to hundreds of vulnerable patients over the course of many years.
- After Adventist Health finally parted ways with the therapist, he was hired by another local physical therapy practice and continued abusing patients, which is a textbook example of “passing the trash.”
The women alleged that Elias targeted patients who came to him in pain and at vulnerable moments in their lives, isolated them in private treatment rooms, instructed them to undress completely, and then sexually assaulted them under the guise of providing medical treatment.
Adventist Health operates 27 hospitals in the United States and provides outpatient care at more than 430 clinics. Adventist Health Sonora operates both a traditional hospital and multiple outpatient clinics. In 2025 alone, Adventist Health organizations in the United States saw almost 1 million emergency visits, over 3 million clinic visits, and over 5 million outpatient visits.
“Adventist Health had repeated opportunities to stop the abuse, but chose not to act,” said Paul Llewellyn. “Multiple women told Adventist employees what happened to them. Not one of those reports went anywhere. This settlement reflects the devastating consequences when an institution fails to act on warnings and protect the people entrusted to its care.”
“Our clients went to Adventist Health for relief from debilitating pain and instead endured abuse by the person entrusted with their care,” said Erin Reding. “The women’s bravery in coming forward exposed not only Elias’ conduct, but the institutional failures that allowed the danger to continue. We know Elias abused other women in the community, and we encourage anyone who suffered mistreatment, or anyone with information about Elias’ abuse, to come forward.”
Case Background
Sonora is a small town in Tuolumne County, California. Adventist Health Sonora is the only hospital and the primary medical provider in the area, which means residents who need physical therapy have few alternatives. Jason Elias worked there as a physical therapist for decades.
According to the complaint filed in Tuolumne County Superior Court, the plaintiffs – all adult women who sought treatment for injuries and chronic pain – were assigned to Elias and allegedly subjected to escalating sexual abuse during purported treatment sessions. The alleged conduct included groping their breasts and buttocks, rubbing their genitals under the pretense of massage, and covertly photographing their bodies while they lay exposed and undraped on a treatment table. Several plaintiffs described a pattern of grooming that preceded the abuse: Elias drew out details of their divorces, bereavements, financial hardship, and family struggles, invoked shared religious faith, and positioned himself as one of the few people they could trust.
According to the complaint, reports about Elias began as early as 2007, when a patient told an Adventist Health front-desk employee immediately after an alleged assault that Elias should not be working there and that he was “a pervert.” Over the years that followed, she repeated the report to four more Adventist Health employees, including her own physical therapist, whom she told on at least three separate occasions. No one connected her to human resources, hospital administration, or risk management, and no investigation followed.
Years later, one plaintiff described Elias’ assault of her to an Adventist Health physical therapist, who advised her to report it, but did not report it herself, despite having already heard nearly identical complaints about Elias from another woman. When that plaintiff later called the clinic to request a female therapist and explained that Elias inappropriately touched her, the employee simply rearranged the appointment. When that plaintiff repeated the account to her new Adventist Health therapist, the therapist asked no follow-up questions. Elias was finally suspended in 2022, and Adventist Health later opened an internal investigation after additional women came forward.
After leaving Adventist Health, Elias was hired by Sonora Physical Therapy, where he continued treating patients, including one plaintiff whom Adventist Health had referred to him and whom he allegedly had spent months grooming while still employed by the hospital. That plaintiff was later allegedly assaulted by Elias at Sonora Physical Therapy. Elias has since lost his license to practice as a physical therapist in California and was recently convicted of a felony DUI in connection with an accident that resulted in injuries.
The seven women alleged lasting harm: post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, insomnia, damaged relationships, and a fear of medical settings severe enough that some have avoided necessary medical care entirely.
The case is Does 2-8 v. Sonora Community Hospital d/b/a Adventist Health Sonora, Tuolumne County Superior Court Case No. CV66330. Copy of the legal complaint.
About Lewis & Llwellyn LLP
Lewis & Llewellyn LLP is a San Francisco-based trial law firm representing plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes commercial disputes and sexual abuse cases nationwide.
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