Judge Grants Preliminary Approval To Class Action Suit Against USC, Former Gynecologist
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A Los Angeles federal judge Wednesday gave preliminary approval to the $215 million class-action settlement with women who say they were sexually abused by former University of Southern California gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall.
The class includes as many as 17,000 women seen by Tyndall at the USC Student Health Center between August 1989 and June 2016.
"We are pleased that the court has granted preliminary approval," the plaintiffs' lawyers said in a joint statement. "This settlement gives every single woman who saw Tyndall a choice in how they want to participate and hold USC accountable, while also forcing the school to change to ensure this doesn't happen again. The judge's order is an important step toward providing each survivor the relief and measure of closure she deserves, and we look forward to obtaining final approval."
Tyndall served as the only full-time gynecologist at the USC Engemann Student Health Center for nearly 30 years. In 2016, the school began investigating him over allegations of improper pelvic exams and making racist and sexually inappropriate remarks.
USC didn't terminate Tyndall's employment until June 2017. The Los Angeles Times had been looking into Tyndall for months prior to the university's acknowledgment in May of last year that the school had been investigating him.
Under the terms of the deal, Tyndall's former patients would receive minimum payments $2,500. Beyond the payments, the settlement requires USC to create a position tasked with ensuring complaints about improper conduct are investigated. USC will also have to conduct background checks on health center employees, improve staff training and increase staffing that would allow female patients to see female doctors.
The school announced the settlement last October. A January hearing has been set to finalize the settlement.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
