LOS ANGELES (AP) – The University of California system announced Tuesday that it will pay nearly $ 375 million to more than 300 women who said they were sexually abused by a UCLA gynecologist, which will amount to record in total payments from a public university in a wave of sexual misconduct scandals by campus doctors.
The agreement followed previous agreements with hundreds of other patients who said Dr. James Heaps palpated them, made suggestive comments, or performed unnecessarily invasive examinations during his 35-year career.
“Dr. A lot of patients are sexually abused for years while UCLA Health puts the benefits above their safety, “said attorney Jennifer McGrath in a statement.” Today’s agreement is the result of the courage of these victims. and sends a message that healthcare institutions must protect vulnerable patients and act decisively in the face of allegations of abuse. “
The university has agreed to pay nearly $ 700 million to Heap patients, which reduced a $ 500 million deal from Michigan State University in 2018 that was considered the largest by a public university. The University of Southern California, a private institution, has agreed to pay more than $ 1 billion to settle thousands of cases against the school’s gynecologist.
Heaps, 65, who withdrew as the scandal unfolded, has pleaded not guilty to 21 counts of sexually assaulting seven women.
The women who filed the lawsuit said UCLA ignored their complaints and deliberately hid the abuse that occurred for decades during exams at the UCLA Student Health Center, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, or UCLA Medical Center. Heaps campus office.
UCLA acknowledged that it received a complaint of sexual abuse against Heaps from a patient in December 2017 and began an investigation the following month that concluded it had been sexually assaulted and harassed, lawyers said.
Heaps, however, continued to serve until his retirement in June 2018. The university did not disclose its conclusion in the investigation until November 2019, months after Heaps was arrested.
The university previously reached agreements with other Heaps patients for $ 316 million. The latest deal with 312 women resolves the vast majority of claims against Heaps, the university said.
“The conduct allegedly committed by Heaps is reprehensible and contrary to our values,” UCLA said in a statement. “We are grateful to all those who came forward and hope that this agreement will be a step towards providing some level of healing for the plaintiffs involved.”
Sexual abuse by doctors on college campuses has led to mass settlements at Ohio State University, Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University.
The state of Michigan paid $ 500 million to 300 women and girls who said they were assaulted by Larry Nassar, who was a campus sports doctor and a gymnast in the United States. Nassar, who also sexually abused gymnasts with an Olympic gold medal, is serving prison sentences that will keep him behind bars for the rest of his life.
The University of Michigan reached a $ 490 million deal with more than 1,000 people who said they were sexually assaulted by the late Dr. Robert Anderson during his nearly four-decade career as a school sports physician.