University of California, Los Angles came to a settlement of $243.6 million dollars paid to the sexual abuse victims by the hands of, former UCLA gynecologist Dr. James Heaps.
Dr. James Heaps worked part-time as a gynecologist at the student health center from 1983 to 2010. He was then hired by UCLA Health in 2014. He worked at UCLA Health until 2019 when he was arrested under charges of sexual battery of two former patients in 2017 and 2018. He pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial for the criminal charges.
Heaps was criminally charged in 2021 for 21 counts of sexual offenses involving seven different women. Lawsuits that were brought on against UCLA, are firm in their belief that the university ignored three decades of complaints and they concealed Dr. James Heaps’s abuse towards hundreds of women.
UCLA released a statement on February 8th, 2022 announcing a settlement that equals $1.2 million dollars for each plaintiff. The settlement covers 203 former patients that have sued against UCLA for the misconduct created by Dr. James Heaps. While this is a step in the right direction, more action needs to be taken. Over the course of 35 years, hundreds upon hundreds of allegations came out against Dr. James Heaps. The 203 patients this settlement targets, do NOT include everyone that he has harmed.
This is not the first time a university has dealt with these allegations. USC had a similar situation back in March, where they agreed to an $852 million dollar settlement because of all of the allegations against their gynecologist. The University of Michigan announced a $490 million dollar settlement last month because of their sports doctor who had many sexual assault allegations against him.
This blog post is part of the CIMA law group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA law group specializes in Immigration law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.
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