2UrbanGirls
  • Home
  • Local
    • Compton
    • Education
    • Inglewood
    • Los Angeles
    • Orange County
  • News
    • Elections
  • Business
  • Crime
  • Opinion
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Word on the Streets
  • Things to Do
    • Arts & Culture
    • Entertainment
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Mediakit
  • Shop
    • Cart

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

What's Hot
March 23, 2023

Leroy Chapman Jr. named first Black Editor-in-Chief of Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper

March 23, 2023

Closing arguments begin in LA Councilman’s public corruption trial

March 23, 2023

2024 Presidential hopeful implores GOP to not overlook California

Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • Leroy Chapman Jr. named first Black Editor-in-Chief of Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper
  • Closing arguments begin in LA Councilman’s public corruption trial
  • 2024 Presidential hopeful implores GOP to not overlook California
  • Cerritos College looks forward to a permanent Child Development Center
  • El Camino College Board Trustee Ken Brown has died
  • Disneyland Resort celebrates return of Mickey’s Toontown
  • Authorities ID cyclist killed in hit-and-run crash in Pomona
  • Retired Orange County pastor convicted for sexually assaulting two girls
Facebook Twitter YouTube TikTok Instagram
2UrbanGirls
  • Home
  • Local
    1. Compton
    2. Education
    3. Inglewood
    4. Los Angeles
    5. Orange County
    6. View All

    Compton College Diverse Workforce Hiring Meets Benchmarks

    March 22, 2023

    Compton College to host job fair March 25

    March 21, 2023

    Authorities offer $20,000 reward for help solving murder of former NBA player’s father

    March 21, 2023

    Compton shooting leaves one dead

    March 17, 2023

    Cerritos College looks forward to a permanent Child Development Center

    March 23, 2023

    El Camino College Board Trustee Ken Brown has died

    March 23, 2023

    UNCF’s “A Mind Is …”® gala raises over $1 million to support HBCUs and their students

    March 21, 2023

    Potential strike looms over Los Angeles Unified School District

    March 20, 2023

    El Camino College Board Trustee Ken Brown has died

    March 23, 2023

    Inglewood Councilwoman-elect has yet to resign from water board seats

    March 21, 2023

    Inglewood increasing trash rates, again

    March 20, 2023

    Black-Owned brewery prepares to stake roots in Inglewood

    March 20, 2023

    Metro train hits ANOTHER pedestrian

    February 20, 2023

    LA city council approves relocation assistance for tenants following rent increases

    February 7, 2023

    LA Mayor makes new appoints to police commission

    February 7, 2023

    LA council committee backs ending COVID testing for unvaccinated employees

    February 7, 2023

    Off-duty Orange County deputy dies in single-vehicle crash

    February 9, 2023

    2 dead after wrong-way driver causes multi-vehicle crash in Orange County

    February 6, 2023

    Pedestrian killed while crossing street in Orange County

    February 6, 2023

    Man faces life sentence for kidnapping, rape of girl in Orange County

    February 4, 2023

    Closing arguments begin in LA Councilman’s public corruption trial

    March 23, 2023

    2024 Presidential hopeful implores GOP to not overlook California

    March 23, 2023

    SuperLotto Plus jackpot grows to $44 million

    March 23, 2023

    CA AG weighs appeal of judge’s ruling on Unsafe Handgun Act

    March 23, 2023
  • News
    • Elections
  • Business
  • Crime
  • Opinion
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Word on the Streets
  • Things to Do
    • Arts & Culture
    • Entertainment
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Mediakit
  • Shop
    • Cart
2UrbanGirls
You are at:Home»News»UC to Pay $246.3M in Sexual Misconduct Suits vs. Former UCLA Gynecologist
Michael Gordon / Shutterstock

UC to Pay $246.3M in Sexual Misconduct Suits vs. Former UCLA Gynecologist

0
By 2UrbanGirls on February 8, 2022 News

LOS ANGELES – The University of California will pay $246.3 million to resolve civil cases filed by more than 200 plaintiffs who alleged sexual misconduct by former UCLA gynecologist James Heaps, it was announced Tuesday.

Heaps served as a gynecologist/oncologist, affiliated with UCLA, for nearly 35 years. At various times, he saw patients at the UCLA/Ronald Reagan Medical Center and at his office located at 100 Medical Plaza. At one time, Heaps was reportedly the highest paid physician in the entire UC system and had treated about 6,000 patients, attorneys said.

More than 500 lawsuits have been filed against Heaps and UCLA, accusing the school of failing to protect his patients after becoming aware of the misconduct.

The lawsuits allege that UCLA actively and deliberately concealed Heaps’ sexual abuse of patients. Despite the knowledge, UCLA continued to allow Heaps to have unfettered sexual access to female patients — many of whom were cancer patients — at UCLA, plaintiffs’ attorneys allege.

“The conduct alleged to have been committed by Heaps is reprehensible and contrary to the University’s values,” UCLA officials said in a statement Tuesday. “Our first and highest obligation will always be to the communities we serve, and we hope this settlement is one step toward providing healing and closure for the plaintiffs involved. We admire the courage of the plaintiffs in coming forward and appreciate plaintiffs’ counsel’s commitment to resolving the claims.”

A federal judge in July gave final approval to the $73 million settlement of a lawsuit brought by more than 5,500 women who allege they were sexually abused and assaulted as patients of Heaps.

In the current settlement, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, 203 plaintiffs alleged they were assaulted by Heaps, who faces 21 counts of sexual abuse offenses in state court in a criminal case in which he’s accused of sexually assaulting seven women. He faces more than 67 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

“This historic settlement allows these brave women to achieve their litigation goals of accountability and compensation, paving the path for their continued healing,” plaintiffs’ attorney John Manly said in a statement Tuesday. “Instead of unnecessarily inflicting further damage upon these survivors, the UC Regents made the decision to resolve these claims for reasonable value, and I would like to recognize those efforts. This should serve as a model for other universities who are facing the same sort of claims.”

In its statement, UC said that UCLA Health, the Arthur Ashe Student Health & Wellness Center, and the UC system leadership have “taken substantial action to address the issues alleged in the litigation, including enhanced policies and procedures to prevent, detect and respond to allegations of sexual misconduct by a clinician.”

“We remain dedicated to taking all necessary steps to ensure our patients’ well being and to maintain the public’s confidence and trust,” according to UC.

Settlement of the federal case last year requires UCLA to ensure stronger oversight procedures for identification, prevention and reporting of sexual misconduct.

The federal lawsuits alleged that while patients complained about Heaps years earlier, it was not until late 2017 that allegations of sexual misconduct by the gynecologist were reported to UCLA’s Title IX office and a formal investigation was opened.

Heaps was allowed to continue seeing patients — both during the investigation and after UCLA informed Heaps that his contract would not be renewed when it expired on June 30, 2018.

UCLA ended Heaps’ employment and notified law enforcement of the allegations against him on June 14, 2018.

In June 2019, Heaps was arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual battery. Following his arrest, many more women came forward to report alleged sexual misconduct. In August 2020, Heaps was charged with additional felonies.

In March last year in a similar case, USC agreed to pay more than $1.1 billion to former patients of ex-campus gynecologist George Tyndall, the largest sex abuse payout in higher education history. Tyndall — the only full- time gynecologist at the student health clinic from 1989 until 2016 — has pleaded not guilty to dozens of sexual assault charges and is awaiting trial.

Related

college higher education lawsuit settlement UCLA
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
2UrbanGirls
  • Twitter

2UrbanGirls has been cited in Daily Breeze, Daily News, Inglewood Today, Intersections South LA, KCRW, KPCC, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Wave, LA Weekly, LA Watts Times, Mercury News, New York Times, Orange County Register, Sports Illustrated, The Atlantic, and Washington Post. Former contributor to CityWatchLA.

Related Posts

Judge awards $1 million in attorney’s fees in worker’s disupte with LA County DPSS

Judge finds flaws in LASD Commander’s retaliation, whistleblower lawsuit

Settlement reached in Post Malone lawsuit

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Most Read
Crime
March 10, 20230

Orange County movie theater evacuated after fight breaks out

ORANGE, Calif. – A movie theater was evacuated after a fight broke out which lead…

March 12, 2023

New York bank shutdown closes LA, OC offices

March 9, 2023

Women ordered to strand trial for the death of a woman seeking a BBL

March 16, 2023

Traffic collision leaves one dead, two injured in San Bernardino County

Elections
March 21, 2023

Grace Yoo announces candidacy for Los Angeles Council District 10

March 21, 2023

2022 election data shows Republicans gained in majority Latino districts

March 11, 2023

Gloria Gray maintains lead in Inglewood runoff election

March 8, 2023

Gloria Gray takes early lead over incumbent in Inglewood runoff election

Entertainment
March 22, 2023

Walmart presents Pharrell Williams’ Something in the Water Festival

March 21, 2023

Kim Fields, Nathan Mitchell among celebrity presenters for 42nd College Television Awards

March 21, 2023

Settlement reached in Post Malone lawsuit

March 19, 2023

‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ opens with $30.5 million

Business
March 22, 2023

Should I use credit cards to pay my insurance premiums?

March 21, 2023

Ways your business can give back to charity

March 21, 2023

Black Tech Week returns to Cincinatti this summer

March 20, 2023

Sofi’s campaign to stop the student-loan payment pause

Transportation
March 13, 2023

Metro reaches goal of 10 million rides under GoPass pilot program

March 13, 2023

Inglewood Transit Connector Virtual Meeting: “How to do Business with Metro” today at 10 a.m.

March 13, 2023

East Side Riders Bike Club launches E-Bike Lending Program in Compton

March 1, 2023

City Council votes 10-2 to extend LAPD contract with Metro

Sports
March 20, 2023

Magic Johnson part of group making bid for Washington Commanders

March 20, 2023

Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium in danger of losing 2026 World Cup hosting rights

March 15, 2023

Kobe Bryant’s hand, footprints to be unveiled outside TCL Chinese Theatre

March 10, 2023

Fundraiser Ideas for High School Sports Teams

Real Estate
February 28, 2023

In a World of Shrinking Apartments, L.A. Rentals Got Bigger – Here’s Why 

February 27, 2023

Homes owned by Black families appreciated the fastest during the pandemic

February 17, 2023

Top 50 Most Expensive L.A. County Neighborhoods in 2022

February 13, 2023

5 Most Expensive Homes in Inglewood

Legal
March 16, 2023

Former employee identified in lawsuit against Encino doctor

February 7, 2023

Black tenant seeks to intervene in ongoing discrimination case

February 2, 2023

Juice bar chain pays $175,000 to settle federal discrimination claims

February 1, 2023

Grand Jury indicts disbarred attorney Tom Girardi for embezzling $15M from clients

Newsletter

Recent Posts
  • Leroy Chapman Jr. named first Black Editor-in-Chief of Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper
  • Closing arguments begin in LA Councilman’s public corruption trial
  • 2024 Presidential hopeful implores GOP to not overlook California
  • Cerritos College looks forward to a permanent Child Development Center
  • El Camino College Board Trustee Ken Brown has died
Recent Comments
  • More concerns than MRT on More from the FBI agent’s testimony in L.A. City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas’ criminal trial
  • Latinos Against Mayor Butts on Letter to the Editor: Inglewood High is a war zone!
  • Untruths are shaky foundations on Opinion: LA mayor doesn’t have to ‘lie to kick it’ by overinflating homeless housing success
Copyright © 2011-2023 2UrbanGirls.
  • Cookie Policy
  • DMCA
  • Privacy Policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.