USC pays US$215m over sex abuse suit
THE University of Southern California said Friday it has reached agreement in principle on a US$215 million dollar class action settlement with former patients of a campus gynecologist who has been accused of sexual abuse.
George Tyndall had worked as the only full-time gynecologist at the USC student clinic for nearly 30 years. The complaints against Tyndall include improperly photographing students’ genitals, touching women inappropriately during pelvic exams and making sexually suggestive remarks about their bodies.
“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,” said USC Interim President Wanda Austin in a statement.
Austin was appointed interim USC president in August, replacing C. L. Max Nikias who agreed to step down amid the scandal.
A journey begins
The settlement provides compensation of 2,500 dollars to all former patients who received women’s health services from Tyndall. Patients who are willing to provide further details about their experience could be eligible for additional compensation up to 250,000 dollars, according to the statement.
Class action settlement must be approved by the court. The entire approval process can take six to eight months, or more.
“Following the expected court approval, all class members will be sent a notice of their options under the settlement in the coming months,” said Austin, noting that the announcement is an important step forward but “it is only the beginning of our journey.”
The settlement will be one of the largest by a US university facing accusations of sexual misconduct.
The announcement came after 93 more former female students filed new lawsuits Thursday against USC for failing to address complaints about Tyndall, bringing the claims against the university to more than 400.
The latest information about the settlement and a summary of change actions is available in Chinese translation on the university’s official website. The Los Angeles Times reported in May that some colleagues of Tyndall feared the gynecologist was targeting the university’s growing population of Chinese students in recent years.