URMC professor Blickman counter-sues, calls rape claim 'malicious, false and salacious'

The University of Rochester Medical Center doctor accused last month of repeatedly raping a medical resident has filed a counter-suit in state Supreme Court, admitting to a consensual relationship but calling the criminal accusations "malicious, false and salacious."

Johan Blickman, a pediatric radiologist, is on leave from URMC after Katia Kaplan-List, a former medical resident at Rochester General Hospital who did some rotations at URMC, filed a shocking lawsuit that accused him of, among other things, plotting to kill his ex-wife and forcing Kaplan-List to have sexual contact with his dog.

More: Prominent URMC professor Johan Blickman accused of drugging, raping resident

Blickman's lawsuit, filed March 6, tells a very different story. According to him, the two had a "consensual romantic and sexual relationship" from September 2014, when she finished her last URMC rotation, to January 2016.

In June 2016, according to Blickman, URMC received a letter accusing Blickman of having "inappropriate interactions" with Kaplan-List. It investigated and issued a finding Sept. 16 that the relationship was consensual and not in violation of any policies.

In its initial response to Kaplan-List's lawsuit, URMC wrote that it investigated a relationship between the two in 2016 but did not disclose its findings except to say it "took action based on our findings." Spokesman Chip Partner said URMC did not have advance knowledge of Blickman's counter-suit and would have no additional comment.

That lawsuit notes that Kaplan-List's lawyer, Frank Housh, made his first, unsuccessful attempt to file the initial lawsuit Jan. 12, the day after UR President Joel Seligman resigned and the university, in general, was in tumult over questions of sexual misconduct.

"The Kaplan-List Complaint (had) the clear intent to: a) maliciously defame Blickman and his reputation within the community and medical profession and b) monetarily capitalize by the false and salacious accusations contained therein," the counter-suit states.

It also claims that Housh never did manage to file the lawsuit correctly, and that the civil claims are beyond the statute of limitations.

Housh said his client stands by the allegations and is "suffering greatly" as a result of the legal action she brought, including losing her job as a radiologist in Florida.

"She's now a single mother who's unemployed," he said. "The notion she was doing this to gain some sort of benefit is patently absurd."

Kaplan-List initially requested a $30 million judgment; Blickman lists six counter-claims at $10 million each, for a total of $60 million.

JMURPHY7@Gannett.com