LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Attorneys representing hundreds of women who claim they were sexually abused by former USC campus gynecologist George Tyndall will announce a “global settlement'' of lawsuits against the university today, describing the resolution as the largest of its type ever reached against a university.
Details of the settlement were not immediately released, with attorneys scheduled to discuss the resolution at an afternoon news conference in downtown Los Angeles.
“The sheer size of this settlement is testimony to the enormous harm that the depraved action of George Tyndall caused our clients,'' according to a statement from the law firm of Manly, Stewart & Finaldi. “It also speaks to the culpability of USC in employing Tyndall for 30 years and ignoring volumes of complaints and evidence of his misdeeds.''
There was no immediate response from USC to the planned announcement.
USC officials have repeatedly denied allegations of a cover-up relating to Tyndall and have said new protocols were implemented at its Student Health Center to ensure any complaints are investigated and resolved by appropriate university officials and authorities. Additionally, the university said it has hired female, board-certified physicians and introduced patient education materials about sensitive examinations.
Hundreds of women have come forward with allegations of abuse by Tyndall under the guise of gynecological exams during his time at the university, with some complaints dating back to the 1980s.
Tyndall was placed on leave by USC in 2016 and retired with a financial settlement in 2017.
The various lawsuits have alleged that Tyndall used his position as a trusted and credentialed medical professional to commit a series of abusive acts toward his patients, such as forcing patients to undress completely in front of him while he watched, groping patients' breasts and making racist, misogynistic and sexually harassing comments to patients.
The lawsuits contend USC was aware of Tyndall's sexual abuse of female student patients for decades and continued to grant him unfettered sexual access to the young students in his and USC's care.
Tyndall, who has denied wrongdoing, was originally charged in June 2019 with 18 felony counts of sexual penetration and 11 felony counts of sexual battery by fraud involving 16 women dating back to 2009, with the alleged victims ranging in age from 17 to 31. He pleaded not guilty and was released from jail on bond about two months after his arrest.
Last year, Tyndall was charged with five counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person and one count of sexual battery by fraud involving five other women, with the crimes allegedly occurring between 2011 and 2105.
In January of last year, a federal judge in Los Angeles granted final approval of a $215 million class-action settlement between USC and some of the women who claimed they were sexually abused by Tyndall.
The settlement provided all class members -- about 17,000 former patients who received women's health services from Tyndall -- compensation of $2,500 and up.
But Tyndall and USC were also sued in state court by hundreds of other women. According to Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, the law firm represents 234 alleged victims, and also worked with attorneys representing another 710 women.
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