A Toronto-based plastic surgeon was ordered to pay $22.5 million in damages to the patients he filmed without giving their consent. Dr. Martin Jugenburg has installed several cameras in his clinic, including the consultation room and operating theater.
A judge found him guilty of invading patients’ privacy. Popularly known as Dr. 6ix on the internet, he often posted content to promote his work on social media. CBC’s Marketplace investigation found his clinic had more than two dozen cameras in private areas. They were doing an undercover story on breast implants.
In January 2017, the clinic installed 24 cameras located in all areas except for the washrooms. The cameras were not easy for patients to notice. Only one disclosure of being recorded was placed in the elevator lobby. The cameras looked like small black and white boxes at the corner of the ceiling. Some of the cameras recorded both audio and video.
RULING: After a 5-week common issues trial ending Dec/2025, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found Dr. Martin Jugenburg negligent and liable for intrusion upon seclusion over the use of
24 surveillance cams at the Toronto Cosmetic Surgery Institute…MUST PAY: $22 million! https://t.co/eOv55rEdTl— JTerri (@bohemianww) May 29, 2026
Apart from that, the patients did not know if they were being filmed throughout the clinic. On the other hand, the doctor argued that the cameras were placed for security and not with a voyeuristic intention.
The clinic had a policy to get consent from the patients before posting photos and videos online. When the doctor posted content online, he took precautions. These included blurring and cropping faces and keeping the patient anonymous.
After the CBC’s Marketplace report, the cameras were shut down while thousands of patients proceeded with class action lawsuits based on two classes. The doctor attended about 2,500 patients during the time cameras were working, which ended up in a surveillance class lawsuit.
On the other hand, the judge pointed out that the clinic had a consent procedure for posting content online. Justice Perell certified the class action for the Surveillance Class. The issues included breach of trust, intrusion upon seclusion, vicarious liability, and fiduciary duty.
Dr. 6ix ordered to pay $22.5 million after judge rules he secretly filmed patients undressing. ‘Reprehensible’ breach of trust.
Yet @msSharanKaur and Navigator PR are out here doing damage control for him. Interesting client selection.https://t.co/WB4bWV0ckq
— canineunit (@canineunit26) May 29, 2026
Based on different procedures and patients signing on consent for exposure on social media, the judge did not go ahead with the Internet Class. The judge noted, “As I have found, Dr. Jugenburg knew exactly what he was doing — invading patients’ privacy. His conduct as a physician was reprehensible. He abused his position of trust and betrayed his vulnerable patients from whom he was profiting.”
One of the plaintiffs, J.C., said, “I can’t imagine how many other women out there don’t even know this has gone on. No doctor should be able to get away with this type of behavior.” Jugenburg will be paying damages to anyone who came for surgical and non-surgical procedures. This includes $21.5 million aggregate damages for intrusion upon seclusion and $1 million in punitive damages.
