Ohio State's $100-million settlement with victims of former team physician Richard Strauss earlier this year may end up costing the university even more money.
A master settlement reached with Strauss survivors in 2020 — that Ohio State provided to WOSU Monday — sets an amount of $250,551 on average per claimant.
The settlement said that if the amount is higher with survivors in future settlements, a mediator would be brought in to determine the difference owed those in the earlier settlement.
The settlement with 279 Strauss survivors announced in June amounts to about $358,000 per claimant on average.
Strauss survivor Michael DiSabato issued a statement that lawyers are reviewing the matters.
"We remain hopeful that Ohio State and plaintiffs’ counsel will engage with us promptly and in good faith to resolve them," DiSabato's statement said.
"We are continuing to work through several significant unresolved issues arising from the Richard Strauss settlement process," the statement said.
That includes "the need to address the claims of additional groups of survivors—including a significant number of youth survivors who were as young as 11 or 12 years old when they were subjected to Strauss’s abuse," DiSabato's statement said.
In an email, Ohio State spokesman Ben Johnson said the university can't comment because of the ongoing mediation process.
In May, retired Columbus Fire Chief Jeffrey Happ, Gahanna Director of Public Safety Tim Becker and retired Columbus firefighter Todd Schroeck said that they all had been abused by Strauss.
Strauss was a doctor at Ohio State from 1978 to 1998. During that time, Strauss is believed to have sexually abused hundreds of young men.
Strauss died in 2005.
