Payout date set in Tyndall settlement


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Payouts to the patients of former campus gynecologist George Tyndall will be disbursed April 6, according to a statement released by the Tyndall settlement class counsel Wednesday.

As part of the settlement approved Tuesday, the University will fund tiered payouts ranging from $2,500 to $250,000 for Tyndall’s nearly 18,000 former patients. A panel of three experts comprising a gynecologist, a forensic psychologist and a court-appointed special master will decide the value of each payout for class action members who choose to enter an impact statement detailing Tyndall’s abuse, provide evidence of misconduct or submit to an interview with the panel.

The April 6 disbursement will include Tier 1 payments of $2,500 per class member. Members who receive the Tier 1 payment remain eligible to apply for the second and third tiers of compensation, according to court documents.

Attorneys Steve Berman, Annika Martin and Daniel Girard, who represent the plaintiffs in the class action settlement, released a statement Wednesday announcing that the settlement received final approval from the court and discussed the reforms to University sexual and racial misconduct reporting that will be implemented as a result of the agreement.

“We are pleased the Court has approved this historic settlement that provides a measure of closure to thousands of survivors and are proud to have fought alongside them to forge a settlement that holds USC accountable,” the statement read. “We look forward to implementing the agreement, including the groundbreaking reforms to prevent these types of abuses from occurring in the future.”

Tyndall was arrested in June following the release of a Los Angeles Times investigation in May 2018 that revealed hundreds of accusations of sexual abuse over his 28-year tenure at USC Student Health. He has pleaded not guilty to 18 felony counts of sexual assault and 11 counts of sexual battery occurring between 2009 and 2016 and will stand trial in a separate criminal case conducted by the L.A. District Attorney’s Office.