The USC gynecologist settlement refers to more than $1.1 billion the University of Southern California paid to resolve claims that George Tyndall, the sole full-time gynecologist at its student health center from 1989 to 2016, sexually abused patients over nearly three decades. The total comes from two main agreements: a $215 million federal class action covering roughly 18,000 former patients, and an $852 million California state court settlement covering 710 women who filed individual suits. Additional private settlements, whose terms were never disclosed, brought the combined figure past $1.1 billion.1New York Times. USC Settlement George Tyndall It is the largest sexual abuse payout ever reached with a university.
The $215 Million Federal Class Action
The first resolution came in federal court before Judge Stephen V. Wilson in the Central District of California. The class included every woman who received women’s health services from Tyndall at the student health center between August 14, 1989, and June 21, 2016 — more than 18,000 people.2USC. Federal Class Action Settlement
Payments were structured in three tiers. Every eligible class member received a minimum of $2,500 under Tier 1, regardless of whether she had formally accused Tyndall of misconduct. Tier 2 awards ranged from $7,500 to $20,000. Tier 3 awards ranged from $7,500 to $250,000, with amounts tied to the nature and severity of the claimant’s experience.3Lieff Cabraser. USC Tyndall Class Action Settlement A court-appointed Special Master’s Panel evaluated the higher-tier claims.
The court granted final approval on February 19, 2020, and signed the final order on February 25, 2020. Tier 1 distributions began April 6, 2020, and 16,019 claimants ultimately received payments.2USC. Federal Class Action Settlement Class-action attorneys stood to receive up to $25 million in fees and costs.4Los Angeles Times. USC Tyndall Sex Abuse Settlement Leaves Some Victims Bitter
The $852 Million State Court Settlement
Hundreds of women opted out of the federal class and sued USC individually in California state court. They were able to do so largely because of Assembly Bill 1510, authored by Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in October 2019. The law opened a one-year window allowing sexual assault survivors to file claims against a physician at a student health center even if the statute of limitations had already run.5WUNC. Ex-USC Doctor Accused of Sexually Abusing Hundreds of Women Surrenders Medical License
The consolidated case, Jane Doe et al. v. University of Southern California, was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court as Case No. BC715163. Plaintiff firms Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Team and Baltimore-based Janet, Janet and Suggs, LLC together represented 136 of the plaintiffs.6Herald Mail Media. Arias Sanguinetti Wang Torrijos LLP, Janet Janet and Suggs LLC Obtain Historic Settlement With USC A central argument was that the earlier federal class action had been settled prematurely, before meaningful discovery, and that the women deserved substantially more.7ASWT. ASWT and Co-Counsel Obtain Historic Settlement With USC
In March 2021, USC agreed to pay $852 million to 710 plaintiffs: $842.4 million for 702 women and $9.2 million for eight additional plaintiffs.8ABC News. University of Southern Californias $1.1 Billion Sex Abuse Settlement Retired judge Layn Phillips and a Los Angeles Superior Court judge mediated the deal. Tyndall signed the agreement but contributed no money and admitted no wrongdoing.9PBS NewsHour. Former USC Doctor Charged With Sexual Abuse of Students Dies Before Going to Trial
A neutral special master determined each plaintiff’s share based on the severity of her individual claim. The average worked out to roughly $1.2 million per person, though the range ran from the mid-to-low six figures for some claimants to more than $2 million for others.10Los Angeles Times. USCs $1.1 Billion Settlements: Who Gets the Payouts and Other Details Attorneys for the state court plaintiffs stood to receive roughly one-third of the $852 million, or about $300 million.4Los Angeles Times. USC Tyndall Sex Abuse Settlement Leaves Some Victims Bitter
USC funded the settlement over two fiscal years, with the first installment in August 2021 and the second in August 2022. The money came from litigation reserves, insurance, deferred capital spending, potential asset sales, and expense management. The university said it did not use endowment funds, philanthropic gifts, or tuition revenue.11USC. FAQ Regarding George Tyndall Global Settlement in State Court
What USC Knew Before the Settlements
Internal documents released during litigation showed complaints about Tyndall reached USC administrators as early as 2000. His supervisor, Dr. Larry Neinstein, the executive director of the student health clinic, documented at least one complaint about an ungloved vaginal exam and reported it to the university’s Office of Equity and Diversity, which took no action, citing a “lack of corroborating witnesses.”12Daily Trojan. Court Releases Secret Report That Details Decades of Complaints Against George Tyndall
Fewer than 20 sexual complaints were recorded between 1999 and 2009. New complaints about racial and sexual comments surfaced in 2013, and an April 2016 complaint documented Tyndall making specific derogatory remarks about Chinese and Black patients. USC placed him on leave and hired MDReview, an independent medical consulting firm, which concluded that his practices did not meet medical standards and identified a pattern of abuse. In 2016 the university also found roughly 200 photographs of patients’ genitals in Tyndall’s office, did not investigate the finding as potential sex discrimination, and allowed him to continue seeing patients for another day and a half.13Higher Ed Dive. Ed Dept Forces Sweeping Changes to USCs Title IX Policies
Rather than fire Tyndall for cause, which would have required reporting him to the Medical Board, USC negotiated a private separation agreement in June 2017 that let him resign with financial compensation. The university did not report him to the state Medical Board at any point during his employment.14WLRN. USC President Steps Down After a Series of Scandals The Los Angeles Times broke the story in May 2018.
Criminal Charges and Tyndall’s Death
The settlements were civil. Tyndall was separately arrested on June 26, 2019, after a year-long LAPD investigation and eventually faced 27 felony counts — 18 for sexual penetration of an unconscious person and nine for sexual battery by fraud — involving 16 former patients. He pleaded not guilty, remained free on bond, and faced up to 64 years in prison if convicted.9PBS NewsHour. Former USC Doctor Charged With Sexual Abuse of Students Dies Before Going to Trial He surrendered his California medical license effective September 5, 2019.15Medical Board of California. Update Regarding George Tyndall
Tyndall never went to trial. He was found unresponsive at his home on October 4, 2023. The Los Angeles County medical examiner determined he died of natural causes tied to cardiovascular disease, with Type 2 diabetes as a contributing factor. He was 76.16Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. Update Regarding George Tyndall Death The 27 felony charges were dismissed after his death.17ABC7. George Tyndall USC Gynecologist Sexual Assault Trial
Nicole Haynes, a former USC track and field athlete who said Tyndall sexually assaulted her during a 1996 visit, spoke for many claimants: “Neither I nor any of the survivors, the thousands of us out there, will ever get the opportunity to face him in court and tell him exactly what he did to us, and how it impacted our lives. It’s really disappointing.”18ABC7. USC Gynecologist George Tyndall Sexual Abuse
Federal Title IX Findings and Required Reforms
Alongside the money, USC agreed to institutional changes tied to a federal finding of wrongdoing. In May 2018 the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened a directed investigation into how USC handled Tyndall complaints. After 21 months, and after interviewing more than 90 witnesses and 43 of Tyndall’s former patients, the office concluded that USC violated Title IX by failing to “promptly and equitably respond to notice of nine complaints by patients of potential sexual harassment” between 2000 and 2016.19USC. U.S. Education Department, USC Reach Agreement to Confront and Prevent Sexual Harassment
Five complaints between 2000 and 2009 lacked sufficient investigation or interim protective measures. Four complaints between 2010 and 2016 received no investigation, inadequate investigation, or a flawed process. The office also found USC lacked centralized recordkeeping to track repeated complaints against a single employee, and raised concerns that the Office of General Counsel may have undermined the Title IX Coordinator’s autonomy during a 2016 investigation.20USC. Summary of the OCR Resolution Letter and Agreement
Under the resolution agreement, USC restructured its Title IX office, appointed a dedicated Deputy Title IX Coordinator within its medical enterprise, overhauled its data-tracking systems, expanded student and staff training, and submitted to three years of federal monitoring. The university was also required to evaluate current and former employees for Title IX compliance related to Tyndall, with consequences ranging from written reprimands to termination.13Higher Ed Dive. Ed Dept Forces Sweeping Changes to USCs Title IX Policies The student health center was integrated into Keck Medicine of USC to improve physician oversight.19USC. U.S. Education Department, USC Reach Agreement to Confront and Prevent Sexual Harassment The Board of Trustees approved separate governance reforms on November 5, 2019, reducing its size to 35 members and imposing term and age limits on trustees.21USC. Reforms the Board of Trustees Has Implemented
How the Payout Compares
Plaintiffs’ attorneys described the $852 million state court agreement, when announced, as both the largest sexual abuse settlement and the largest personal injury settlement ever reached with a university.22PBS NewsHour. USC Agrees to $852 Million Payout in Sex Abuse Lawsuit The combined $1.1 billion total exceeds the $500 million Michigan State University paid in 2018 over Larry Nassar’s abuse of more than 300 women and girls, and it is larger than the roughly $700 million UCLA paid to thousands of former patients of gynecologist James Heaps, who pleaded guilty to 13 felony charges and received an 11-year prison sentence.23NBC Los Angeles. Ex-UCLA Gynecologist James Heaps Sex Crime Charges USC also separately settled with 80 men, 76 of whom identify as gay or bisexual, who alleged sexual abuse by another former campus physician, Dennis Kelly; the terms of that settlement were not disclosed.24NPR via WSKG. USC Settles Lawsuits With 80 Men Who Say a Former School Doctor Sexually Abused Them