More patients have come forward to accuse a former UCLA gynecologist of sexual abuse after a class action lawsuit was settled for $73 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The settlement included more than 5,000 former patients who alleged Heaps had sexually assaulted them. Heaps did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement agreement.

Despite the class action settlement, there are more James Heap lawsuits pending.

State Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks criticized the settlement, saying it gives survivors who want to pursue their own litigation separately from the class action lawsuit only 90 days to do so. Wicks said this undermines the legislation she introduced — Assembly Bill 3092 — which would allow accusers in the case more time to sue, “dramatically shortening the amount of time a victim may file a case against UCLA and Dr. Heaps.”

Dozens of women opted out of the civil case that ended in the $73 million settlement agreement.

According to James Heaps lawsuits filed by former patients, the former UCLA gynecologist sexually assaulted them during exams while he worked at the UCLA student health center and UCLA Medical Center from 1983 to 2018.

One former patient, now 49 years old, claims Heaps inappropriately touched her breasts and genitalia during an exam and pap smear in 2013.

“I called a friend,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “I told her I just got molested by my doctor.”

The patient, identified only as Jane Doe 1, said the words made her feel awful, and she never wanted to talk about it again. And she may never have spoken up about it — until Heaps was criminally charged in 2019 with abusing his patients. That was when Jane Doe 1 called UCLA to report her own assault.

The woman filed a lawsuit alongside another former patient of Heaps’, identified as Jane Doe 2, in early March. Like other James Heaps lawsuits, their lawsuit was also filed against UCLA.

Jane Doe 2 alleges she was also inappropriately touched by the doctor during an exam in 1992. In their lawsuit, the women level allegations of sexual assault, sexual battery, emotional distress, and negligence.

Other former patients have filed James Heaps lawsuits, as well.

One woman, Ellen C., alleges the doctor purposely misdiagnosed her with a genital autoimmune skin disorder that, without treatment, would turn cancerous and become fatal, according to Elle magazine.

Ellen alleges she saw a new physician eight years later who informed her that diagnosis was a lie, and all of the pelvic exams Heaps had performed on her were medically unnecessary.

Instead, Heaps allegedly had used the misdiagnosis as a scare tactic to keep her coming back to him so he could sexually abuse, molest, and harass her, she said.

“For so long I chalked it up to just being a silly woman who didn’t understand his methods,” Ellen said. “Looking back, I should have known.”

This civil litigation is separate from the ongoing criminal case against the former UCLA gynecologist, in which he faces 20 felony counts, including sexual battery by fraud, sexual exploitation of a patient, and sexual penetration of an unconscious person.

Heaps faces a potential of more than 67 years in prison if he ends up being convicted of all charges. He has pleaded not guilty, and a preliminary hearing is set for April.

UCLA is initiating an independent review of its response to sexual misconduct in clinical settings, including its policies and procedures.