USC's Own Report Suggested Gynecologist Preyed on Students

But school did not fire George Tyndall, reports Los Angeles Times
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 24, 2019 12:42 PM CDT
USC's Own Report Suggested Gynecologist Preyed on Students
This May 22, 2018 photo shows the University of Southern California's Engemann Student Health Center in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

The University of Southern California didn't fire a campus health clinic gynecologist accused of abusing hundreds of women, even after the school's own team of medical experts found evidence of the crimes as well as signs of "psychopathy." That's according to internal university records obtained via court order by the Los Angeles Times. The records, part of a federal class-action lawsuit against USC and Dr. George Tyndall, contain allegations that Tyndall performed pelvic exams while blocking the view of medical assistants and seemed to prey on young Asian patients especially. The complaints date to the 1990s. "If you don't want a huge future lawsuit on your hands, I highly suggest the termination of this man," wrote one patient in 1997, calling Tyndall "the worst doctor I have ever seen in my life." One woman said he didn't use a glove and another said he complimented her pubic hair.

An outside investigation ordered in 2016 found that Asian patients were more likely to get pelvic exams from Tyndall than "non-Asian, obese, or older" patients, perhaps because their language skills made them unlikely to complain. The report said the exams were not within medical standards—one former patient writes of receiving an anal pap smear, which another doctor said she shouldn't have had—and sometimes involved Tyndall taking photos for "dubious" reasons. The report also mentions his request to keep a patient's used intrauterine device as one sign of "underlying psychopathy." Still, the school made a deal with Tyndall to leave his post with a payout and a clean professional record, per the Times. Tyndall has not been charged, though he is the subject of a grand jury investigation. His lawyers deny any wrongdoing. (More George Tyndall stories.)

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