A tentative $215 million USC settlement has been reached in the federal class action lawsuit against former gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall and the university.

The settlement could provide $2,500 or more per student for anyone treated by Tyndall over his 30-year career at the university.

“Patients who are willing to provide further details about their experience could be eligible for additional compensation up to $250,000,” said a statement from interim USC President Wanda Austin, according to CNN.

As many as 17,000 former and current students could be eligible, but they also have the opportunity to opt out of the settlement to pursue their own lawsuits.

Attorneys familiar with the Tyndall allegations question whether the USC settlement is too little and whether USC is being held accountable for decades of allegedly mishandling complaints regarding the doctor’s purported sexually abusive behaviors, racially charged comments and sexually inappropriate remarks. More than one attorney has predicted many class action plaintiffs will opt out of the USC settlement.

Other attorneys have expressed frustration that the settlement did not include forthcoming information as to how Tyndall was allowed to continue as USC’s gynecologist for 30 years without anyone heeding the complaints of the young women who came forward decades ago.

In fact, the person who supervised Tyndall, Dr. Larry Neinstein, died. Neinstein was USC’s health center director from 1995 to 2014, and he left behind files that contained at least eight complaints about Tyndall received between 2000 and 2014.

According to USC’s report, the complaints against George Tyndall included:

• He made racially insensitive comments.
• He made sexually inappropriate comments.
• He was not sensitive to patient privacy.
• He was “unprofessional,” made a woman feel “uncomfortable” and another woman said Tyndall “gave me the skeevies.”

“Several of the complaints were concerning enough that it is not clear today why the former health center director permitted Tyndall to remain in his position,” says the USC report from May 15, 2018.

Instead of reporting Tyndall for further investigation, Neinstein discussed some of the complaints with the patients and brought in outside experts to review Tyndall’s clinical practices. Tyndall also was required to obtain external credentialing every two years, says the USC report.

USC consulted with legal experts and medical professionals to ensure the university did not have an obligation to report any of the facts they discovered during the 2016 investigation.

“Although not legally required, in retrospect the university believes out of an abundance of caution, it should have filed a consumer complaint with the Medical Board at the time Dr. Tyndall separated from the university,” admits USC in in its May 2018 report.

USC Settlement, But No Charges Filed

Despite USC’s investigation findings and the USC settlement, Tyndall has no charges filed against him yet. According to the Los Angeles Times, the LAPD is continuing to investigate and 64 cases are under review by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office for potential sex-crimes prosecution.

Because the $215 million USC settlement only applies to the federal class action lawsuit, Tyndall and USC still need to face more than 400 other USC lawsuits currently making their way through the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Tyndall left USC in June 2017 and allegedly received a secret deal that included a monetary payout of an undisclosed amount.

UPDATE: July 2019, the USC, George Tyndall sexual misconduct class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.