Results Sexual Abuse and Women’s Advocacy

Girard Sharp represents IVF patients of Pacific Fertility Center whose eggs and embryos were damaged or destroyed in a cryopreservation tank failure. On June 11, 2021, after a three-week trial, a jury found the tank manufacturer, Chart Industries Inc., liable for a defect in the tank and for its negligent failure to recall a part that malfunctioned, a “controller” meant to monitor liquid nitrogen levels. The jury awarded more than $14 million in damages to three women who lost eggs and a married couple who lost embryos in the catastrophic March 2018 tank failure. The three women were each awarded between $2 million and $3 million, and the couple was awarded $7.2 million. Girard Sharp represents over 80 families who lost reproductive material in the tank failure.

Girard Sharp served as co-lead counsel in a class action against the University of Southern California and campus gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall on behalf of women who were sexually abused by Tyndall during his long tenure at USC. The case generated $215 million in recoveries for survivors. In addition to requiring that USC recognize the harm done to all of Tyndall’s patients, the settlement requires USC to adopt and implement procedures for identification, prevention and reporting of sexual and racial misconduct.

Girard Sharp lawyers filed a class action lawsuit against UCLA on behalf of women treated by UCLA gynecologist Dr. James Heaps. Heaps was charged with sexual battery and exploitation of patients while working as a staff gynecologist at UCLA—a position he held for almost thirty years. The UC Regents agreed to resolve the claims for $73 million and injunctive relief measures, and the court granted final approval of the settlement.