A jury on Wednesday determined that in 2018, a researcher from Oregon Health & Science University’s top echelons touched another employee’s crotch as they rode in an elevator together.
The Multnomah County jury found Dr. Andras Gruber guilty of sexual assault and causing emotional distress, and Amy Koski was awarded $1 million in damages in a 9-3 vote.
When the two went out for pizza on May 4, 2018, according to court documents, Gruber, a former professor of biomedical engineering at the university, was working across the hall from Koski at the South Waterfront campus.
Koski claimed in the complaint and trial testimony that the researcher interrupted her lunchtime because she made an unacceptable statement about adultery during the meal. He joked about his third leg when the topic of podiatry came up, Koski recalled. She claimed that he suddenly touched her in the elevator after lunch.
Gruber, who is currently 71, has long insisted that he was wrongfully drummed out of the university and used as a scapegoat. Gruber claimed that the lawsuit was driven by money and was founded on false information.
Anne Foster, the plaintiff’s lawyer, stated in an interview that the jury simply didn’t buy what he was selling. However, she had to wait seven years to receive justice in that courtroom.
After the verdict on Monday, February 24, 2025, plaintiff’s lawyer Anne Foster, second from left, and Amy Koski, third from left, take a group portrait with other legal personnel.A courtesy picture
Under Oregon House Bill 3293, a 2019 law that increased the statute of limitations for adult sexual assault cases to five years, the case is among the first to go to trial.
According to Foster, the evidence demonstrated that Koski, who is now 46, quickly told a friend and another doctor about the assault, and the friend agreed to help Koski avoid Gruber.
However, according to court documents, Koski first thought that if she informed human resources, she would have to resign. According to the lawsuit, she came forward in 2021 when the university redistributed office space, which meant she and Gruber would have to work closely together.
Later that year, Gruber was charged with third-degree sexual assault by law authorities when OHSU engaged a workplace investigator and forwarded the matter to them. In January 2023, the case was dismissed by the prosecution due to their failure to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
After that, Gruber filed two lawsuits against OHSU, alleging that administrators still in the wake of a nationwide TikTok Doc controversy had wrongfully defamed him by failing to look into claims made against a well-known doctor on social media.
Both cases were dropped.
During the trial, Foster claimed her client was just one day off, while Gruber’s lawyer claimed Koski had fabricated a day planner documenting the lunch.
Gruber had dined at Pizzicato on May 4, 2018, according to GPS and credit card information given to the plaintiff’s lawyer just before the trial.
Gruber continues to serve as the chief medical officer of Aronora, a biopharmaceutical business he created that does research on blood disorders.
Koski is still employed by OHSU, albeit in a different division.
According to Kevin Sali, Gruber’s lawyer, his client chose not to comment. A request for comment from OHSU was not answered.
For The Oregonian/OregonLive, Zane Sparling reports on court proceedings and breaking news. You may contact him at [email protected], 503-319-7083, or pdxzane.
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