Almost $375 million will be paid by the University of California system to more than 300 women who said that they were sexually abused by a University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) gynecologist, it was announced Tuesday.
In a wave of sexual misconduct scandals by campus doctors, it is a record amount in total payouts by a public university, reported Associated Press. It followed previous deals with hundreds of other patients. They said that Dr. James Heaps made suggestive comments, conducted unnecessarily invasive exams or groped them during his 35-year career.
Attorney Jennifer McGrath said in a statement that Heaps "sexually abused patients for years while UCLA Health put profits over their safety." She added that the new settlement is the result of the "bravery of these victims, and sends a message that healthcare institutions must protect vulnerable patients and act decisively at complaints of abuse.”
UCLA has agreed to pay nearly $700 million to the 65-year-old doctor’s patients. For nearly 35 years, he served as a gynecologist/oncologist, affiliated with UCLA, and many times he saw patients at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and at his office at 100 Medical Plaza. There was a time when Heaps was reportedly the highest paid physician in the UC system and had treated about 6,000 patients, lawyers said, according to ABC7. The doctor has pleaded not guilty to 21 felony counts for allegedly sexually assaulting seven women.
Women who brought the lawsuits said that UCLA ignored their complaints and deliberately concealed abuse. The university acknowledged that it received a sex abuse complaint against Heaps from a patient in December 2017. It launched an investigation the following month that concluded she was sexually assaulted and harassed. However, he continued to practice until his retirement in June 2018. UCLA did not release its finding in the investigation until November 2019, which was months after Heaps was arrested.
Previously, the university reached settlements with Heaps' other patients for $316 million. The university said that the most recent settlement with 312 women resolves the vast majority of claims against the doctor. According to New York Post, the university said that it would pay for the settlements through a combination of insurance, risk financing and capital bond proceeds.
