October 5, 2023 – Los Angeles, CA – George Tyndall, the USC OBGYN who sexually abused and harassed thousands of women while at USC has died, and Mike Arias the co-liaison counsel for the plaintiffs in the civil case against Tyndall is offering a statement.
“What George Tyndall did to countless women over three decades can never be forgotten, and it’s shameful that the survivors of his behavior will never hear him acknowledge, let alone apologize for what he’s done. There were dozens of women who survived Tyndall’s abuse and were anticipating seeing him face-to-face in court so they could confront him for his crimes. Our hearts go out to those survivors who were preparing to testify in court, as his death means this case will not go to trial,” said attorney Mike Arias.
“Neither I nor any of the survivors, the thousands of us out there, will ever get the opportunity to face him in court and tell him exactly what he did to us, and how it impacted our lives. It’s really disappointing,” said former USC athlete and Tyndall abuse survivor Nicole Haynes.
Details of Tyndall Abuse and Lawsuit
Arias Sanguinetti along with co-counsel made history in 2021, obtaining the largest known settlement in a sexual abuse case in U.S. history, as well as the largest known personal injury settlement against a university. The $852,000,000 settlement was obtained on behalf of more than 700 former USC students alleging sexual abuse by USC OB/GYN George Tyndall.
The timeframe of the allegations contained in the complaint ranges from the late 1980’s until Tyndall’s retirement – nearly Tyndall’s entire tenure at the USC Student Health Center. Tyndall was the only full-time gynecologist at USC during this period. He was finally placed on leave by USC in 2016 and permitted to retire, with a significant financial settlement, in 2017.
The complaints filed on behalf of these women alleged Dr. Tyndall used his position as a trusted and credentialed medical professional to commit a series of abusive acts toward his patients, including: forcing his patients to undress completely in front of him while he watched; groping his patients’ breasts; digitally penetrating his patients, often without wearing gloves and with unwashed hands; photographing his patients’ genitals and naked bodies; and making racist, misogynistic, and sexually-harassing comments to his patients.
The lawsuits also claimed that although USC was made aware of allegations, the university actively and deliberately concealed Tyndall’s sexual abuse of female student patients for decades and continued to grant him unfettered sexual access to the young students in his and USC’s care.
“In spite of overwhelming evidence and the testimony of thousands of women Tyndall abused, his defense attorneys continued to claim he was innocent. The criminal trial would have given these women a chance to let a jury determine his guilt, but now that will never happen. The impact of his horrific actions will live with these women for the rest of their lives,” Mr. Arias added. “Now that his life is over, we hope his passing brings some comfort to these women as they know he can no longer harm anyone ever again.”
The case is Jane Doe et al. v. University of Southern California, Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. BC715163.
About Arias Sanguinetti
As the premier law firm handling sex abuse cases in Los Angeles, the lawyers at Arias Sanguinetti have been honored and recognized nationally for their work on behalf of clients, and the firm has obtained over $1.5 billion for clients. Changed this around a bit.
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