The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor will pay $490 million to settle allegations that its former physician sexually abused more than 1,000 patients, according to a lawyer representing some of the survivors.
The physician, Robert Anderson, MD, who died in 2008, worked in the university's athletic department from 1968 to 2003. He also served as director of the health service division, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Under the settlement, $460 million will be divided among the 1,050 survivors and $30 million will be set aside for additional survivors who come forward, according to the Journal.
The university had been in negotiations to resolve multiple lawsuits filed mostly by men who said Dr. Anderson abused them during routine medical examinations, according to ESPN. Negotiations started in October 2020.
A spokesperson for the University of Michigan confirmed the settlement to the Journal and said the university planned to announce it later in the day on Jan. 19.
"The University of Michigan has accepted responsibility financially and otherwise for harm that was caused by Anderson to so many young people that could have been avoided. The university should be commended and not condemned," attorney Jamie White, who represents about 100 Anderson victims, wrote in a statement emailed to Becker's.