Jury Awards Almost $15M To Plaintiffs Who Lost Embryos, Eggs After Fertility Clinic Incident

A group of patients was awarded almost $15 million after a California fertility clinic’s tank failed in 2018, destroying embryos, eggs, and other genetic material. 

Last week, a jury found “cryo-preservation tank manufacturer, Chart Inc., liable on all claims, and awarded $14.975 million in aggregate damages to the five plaintiffs,” according to Business Wire. The jurors reportedly found the tank manufacturer 90% responsible, but placed 10% responsibility on the fertility clinic, per Courthouse News Service.

The trial was the first of several against Chart for the failure of the tank at Pacific Fertility Center. Another trial is set for later this year, with more scheduled for next year. 

“This is an important and emotional ending for our clients who have been through so much pain and hardship since the 2018 tank failure,” said Amy Zeman, one of the lawyers representing the patients. “The jury spoke loudly and unequivocally today, and their clear determination of Chart’s responsibility for the defective tank will have significant ramifications for future cases. We are proud of this result and for achieving some amount of justice and closure for our clients through this trial.” 

According to Gibbs Law Group, the failure was identified by an embryologist who was carrying out a routine walk-through of the lab. The embryologist found that “the liquid nitrogen in one of the cryopreservation tanks had dropped to an unsafe level for an undetermined period of time, potentially destroying or jeopardizing the eggs and embryos stored inside.”

The following week, the clinic sent an email to the patients whose materials were compromised, saying that the failure of the tank was a “very unfortunate incident” and reportedly alluded that some of the genetic materials inside the tank might have been ruined.

More than a month later, the clinic told patients that an investigation into the issue showed that the tank failed because of “a failure of the tank’s vacuum seal.”

The law group said that the process of fertility treatment is not only emotionally and physically demanding, but also a hefty financial investment. “On average, [harvesting and preserving reproductive tissue] costs $10,000 to $12,000 for the egg freezing process, and $800 per year for storage,” it noted.

Some women choose to freeze their eggs if they plan to have children later in life, or if there is a medical reason that requires them to do so. Couples also have the option of adopting embryos if they are not able, or choose not, to conceive naturally. Additionally, couples choose to go through the difficult process of securing embryos for in vitro fertilization for various reasons, namely due to the fact that they are infertile.

The Washington Post reported that the “verdict appears to mark the first time a jury has awarded damages in a case involving the destruction of eggs and embryos, according to experts in family law.” 

“The emotion in the courtroom today was palpable,” said Dena Sharp, one of the lawyers representing the patients. “We have been on the front lines working with our clients for years and the impact this devastating incident had on patients’ lives can’t be minimized. To see Chart held accountable at the end of this long road is to see justice served.”

“This is a landmark case,” said Naomi R. Cahn, director of the University of Virginia’s Family Law Center. “In the past, many of these cases have settled, but here, we have a definitive jury verdict, holding the tank manufacturer primarily responsible, but with the clinic also responsible.”

One of the plaintiffs, Chloe Poynton, 39, lost nine eggs in the failure. “It’s really painful to be at a baby shower celebrating someone else’s family being built and knowing inside you’ll never get that,” she said in her testimony. “So you start to pull back. You start to isolate.”

The result of the case begins a conversation not only regarding fertility clinic practices and monitoring, but also the moral implications about the emotional loss experienced from losing embryos. 

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