UCLA Reaches $243.6M Settlement With 200 Alleged Victims of School Gyno

The University of California system reached a settlement agreement with more than 200 women who alleged they were abused by a UCLA gynecologist Tuesday. The settlement, worth $243.6 million, allots $1.2 million per plaintiff. The women allege Dr. James Heaps sexually abused them while they were under his care. Over 300 other patients of Heaps are still suing, and the doctor faces separate criminal charges related to the care of seven women. Heaps, who is facing 21 felony counts, has pleaded not guilty and stressed that he acted in an appropriate manner, his lawyer told the Los Angeles Times . Last year, USC reached a similar $852 million settlement with patients who alleged sexual abuse by school gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall. Julie Wallach, who alleged Heaps abused her decades ago, told the Times that the settlement “is long overdue. Twenty-four years ago, in 1998, I was referred to Dr. James Heaps at UCLA. At that time, Dr. Heaps sexually abused and assaulted me. I filed a complaint against him with the California Medical Board. I chased down the powers that be at UCLA, who oversaw Dr. Heaps. Nothing was done.”