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UCLA James Heap Sexual Assault Settlement Overview:
- Who: The University of California has agreed to pay $243.6 million to over 200 women who allege they were sexually assaulted by a campus gynecologist.
- Why: The women, some of whom were cancer patients, say the doctor sexually abused them and the university did not do enough to investigate and prevent it.
- Where: The settlement was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) has agreed to pay $243.6 million to more than 200 women who say they were sexually assaulted by campus gynecologist James Heaps, some while they were cancer patients.
The settlement was announced Feb. 8 and would settle the claims of 203 plaintiffs who alleged they were assaulted by Heaps, who also faces 21 counts of sexual abuse offenses in state court.
This week’s settlement comes after a $73 million settlement with the university was approved in July last year. That case was brought by more than 5,500 women who alleged they were sexually abused and assaulted as patients of Heaps.
In the latest settlement, the 203 women accuse UCLA of deliberately hiding Heaps’ alleged sexual abuse of his patients.
The doctor was based at the UCLA student health center during his 35-year career between 1983 and 2018; however, the university did not begin investigating complaints against him until 2017, despite hundreds of women reporting his conduct.
According to lawyers in the case, he was once the highest paid doctor in the University of California system.
University Says It Hopes Settlement Will Provide ‘Healing and Closure’ To Women Involved
The university said in a statement it hoped the financial settlement would provide “healing and closure” for the women involved, Spectrum News reports.
“The conduct alleged to have been committed by Heaps is reprehensible and contrary to the University’s values,” the statement says. “Our first and highest obligation will always be to the communities we serve, and we hope this settlement is one step toward providing healing and closure for the plaintiffs involved.”
Tuesday’s settlement does not end an ongoing lawsuit by more than 300 other former patients of Heaps.
Last year, a federal judge granted the approval for UCLA to pay $73 million to 5,500 women represented in another sexual assault class action lawsuit regarding Heaps.
However, lawyers representing former patients at the time claimed the $73 million class action settlement allowed the university “to keep its dark secrets” and did not hold it to account.
The attorneys urged plaintiffs to opt out of the settlement before the May 6 deadline, saying it only enriched lawyers, covered up the truth and ensured no UCLA administrators were held accountable.
They said the settlement provided an average payout of $11,000 per person, compared to the $1.2 million each patient abused by gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall at the University of Southern California received in a $1.1 billion settlement.
Dozens of women did end up opting out of the civil case that ended in the $73 million settlement agreement, and many more survivors have come forward since.
If you or a loved one suffered from sexual abuse related to an institution in California, you may qualify to join a this California sexual assault lawsuit investigation. Learn more by filling out the form on this page for a free case evaluation by a sexual assault lawyer (links to paid attorney content).
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