University of Michigan agrees to $490 mln sexual-abuse settlement
The sexual abuse settlement is the latest involving a prestigious US academic institution
The University of Michigan said it would pay $490 million to 1,050 people to resolve claims of sexual assault against a former sports doctor, in a settlement spanning decades and involving mostly male athletes as victims.
The university said the deal, the culmination of two years of negotiations with attorneys for the victims, would settle all claims of abuse by the late Dr. Robert Anderson, pending approval by the school's Board of Regents and the courts.
"We hope this settlement will begin the healing process for survivors," Jordan Acker, chair of the Board of Regents, said in a statement.
Under the agreement, $460 million will be paid to the 1,050 claimants, and $30 million placed in reserve for any unidentified victims who come forward by July 31, 2023.
Anderson, who was a physician for the football team and other athletic programs at the university, where he worked from 1966 until his retirement in 2003, died in 2008.
The sexual abuse settlement is the latest involving a prestigious US academic institution.
