After 93 more women came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against University of Southern California gynecologist George Tyndall earlier this week, the University has decided that it will pay $215 million to settle a federal suit that its facing over the allegations.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the payout will be accessible to the many women who sought care from Tyndall during his time at USC, regardless of whether they’ve claimed abuse. This won’t necessarily nix all the suits the school is facing over Tyndall’s misconduct.
We get the latest.
We reached out to USC. They sent us this statement:
As of October 19, 2018, the university has reached agreement in principle on a $215 million class action settlement that will compensate students who received women’s health services from Dr. George Tyndall at USC’s student health center.
Our Board of Trustees supports this settlement, which was reached in collaboration with plaintiffs’ counsel, and which will provide relief to those who have been impacted by this difficult experience. By doing so, we hope that we can help our community move collectively toward reconciliation. I regret that any student ever felt uncomfortable, unsafe, or mistreated in any way as a result of the actions of a university employee.
The settlement provides all class members (former patients who received women’s health services from Tyndall) compensation of $2,500. Patients who are willing to provide further details about their experience could be eligible for additional compensation up to $250,000. Following the expected court approval, all class members will be sent a notice of their options under the settlement in the coming months. In the meantime, I encourage impacted patients to visit this site for more information: change.usc.edu/settlement.
A fair and respectful resolution for as many former patients as possible has been a priority for the university and for me personally since I began serving in the role of Interim President. Many sweeping changes have been made and we continue to work every day to prevent all forms of misconduct on our campuses, to provide outstanding care to all students, and to ensure we have policies and procedures that prioritize respect for our students and our entire university community.
In reaching this settlement, I am grateful for the leadership of our Board of Trustees, and particularly for Rick Caruso, our board chair, for working diligently and leading us through this important time.
Today’s announcement is an important step forward, but it is only the beginning of our journey. We care deeply about our community, we are listening carefully, learning from these experiences and strengthening our university.
Guests:
Sara Randazzo, legal reporter for the Wall Street Journal who first reported on the settlement; she tweets
Ange-Marie Hancock-Alfaro, professor of political science and chair of gender studies at USC; she tweets @AngeMarieH
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, education correspondent at KPCC
