UCLA Agrees to $100 Million Settlement Over Gynecologist Sexual Abuse Lawsuit
This is the second suit in as many years brought against Dr. James Heaps that UCLA has settled.
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has agreed to a $100 million settlement involving UCLA gynecologist, Dr. James Heaps. According to the lawsuit, Heaps sexually abused or groped over 203 patients while practicing at the university. The lawsuit also alleges UCLA ignored complaints about Dr. Heaps for decades and deliberately tried to conceal the abuse.
Besides the civil lawsuit filed against him, Heaps faced a criminal lawsuit last year. The suit, filed by seven women, claims he committed more than 21 counts of sexual abuse. He retired in 2018 after UCLA failed to renew his contract while investigating previous claims against him.
According to reports, these lawsuits are only two of several hundred filed against the gynecologist in recent years. UCLA settled a similar lawsuit last year filed by over 100 women who claimed Heaps abused them. According to the case, the women allege Heaps made inappropriate comments, groped them, and simulated intercourse with an ultrasound probe during examinations at several of the university’s medical centers and the doctor’s on-campus office. UCLA settled last year’s lawsuit for $73 million.
Attorneys representing these women announced that as a result of the class-action settlement, approximately 6,600 former patients would receive anywhere between $2,500 and $250,000 depending on the extent of bodily injury and emotional anguish experienced by each individual.
The monumental lawsuit settlement comes on the coattails of other similar cases settled across the country. If you have suffered abuse by your doctor or healthcare provider, please contact Adamson Ahdoot LLP, today by submitting a case contact form. We can provide justice for those who have been harmed by someone who should be trusted.
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