From AP: A federal judge on Monday gave final approval to a $73 million settlement of a lawsuit that alleged some 6,000 women were sexually abused by a former University of California, Los Angeles gynecologist.
The 2019 class-action suit involved allegations that from 1983 to 2018, Dr. James Heaps groped women, simulated intercourse with an ultrasound probe or made inappropriate comments during examinations at the UCLA student health center, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center or his on-campus office. The suit also accused UCLA of failing to take action against Heaps despite complaints and of having a “policy of indifference” to reports of sexual misconduct.
More than 100 of Heaps’ former patients had made allegations or filed individual lawsuits, but the class-action suit includes all potential victims. Each will receive between $2,500 and $250,000, with the higher amounts involving the extent of bodily injury and emotional distress as decided by a panel of experts.
UCLA didn’t acknowledge wrongdoing in reaching the settlement last year, but the university did agree to change its procedures for preventing, identifying, investigating and dealing with sexual misconduct. That included requiring a trained chaperone to be present during intimate physical examinations of patients age 8 or older unless they opt out.* ...
Heaps, 64, also faces 21 criminal charges of sexual abuse offenses involving seven women. He has denied wrongdoing...
Full story at https://apnews.com/article/health-education-aac88f0eb45c925a1a5c743556c2a68b.
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Lawyers for some plaintiffs were reportedly urging them to opt out when the settlement was initially proposed. See:
https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2021/04/unsettling-news-about-heaps-settlement.html.
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