The path to parenthood is an extremely personal one that can have an enormous financial, physical and emotional toll. By the time you are visiting a fertility clinic, you have already been through your own private struggles. You deserve the chance to have the future you want with help from the best storage and facility options science can offer.
Sadly, when a clinic’s negligence results in the mishandling, damage or loss of your reproductive material, it can shatter your dreams instead of making them a reality. While nothing can make up for the losses you suffered because of this medical mistake, bringing a lawsuit against the fertility clinic can hold them accountable.
At Goldenberg Lauricella, PLLC, we truly understand what it’s like to go through the grief, confusion, hope and trauma of a fertility journey. Our Minneapolis medical malpractice lawyers are passionate about holding institutions within the fertility industry accountable for the preventable loss of reproductive material. Contact us to find out how we can help you during a cost-free consultation.
What Qualifies as Medical Negligence in Fertility Clinic Cases?
When done right, fertility treatments can give families hope and help them grow. When fertility clinics and storage facilities fall short of their responsibilities, on the other hand, it can cause immense problems and pain, including the irreparable loss of embryos, sperm and eggs.
If a fertility center does not act according to the appropriate standards of care when handling patients’ reproductive materials, it is known as medical negligence. Medical negligence, also called medical malpractice, describes a health care provider failing to meet the medical industry’s standards of care, resulting in harm to the patient.
To succeed in a claim against a fertility clinic for the loss of genetic material, the injured party (known as the plaintiff) must provide evidence that the fertility clinic owed them a duty of care, breached or fell short of this duty of care, and that this breach directly caused the plaintiff’s loss or harm.
Types of Fertility Clinic Negligence Behind the Loss of Frozen Embryos, Eggs or Sperm
Negligence by the facility or its staff can lead to irreversible mistakes that have profound consequences. A distinct possibility among fertility and storage centers is the damage or loss of eggs, embryos and sperm. This significant type of loss can arise from many examples of medical negligence, including:
- Failing to prevent freezer or equipment failure through proper maintenance
- Inadequate temperature monitoring or emergency systems
- Failing to properly label and store reproductive material
- Losing or mislabeling a patient’s genetic material
- Mixing up donors’ eggs or sperm (chain-of-custody issues or laboratory errors)
- Carrying out unethical practices, such as doctors stealing eggs
These mistakes can have grave consequences for those involved, including devastating genetic mix-ups, lost embryos, wrongful fertilization and the loss of what may have been an individual’s only chance of biological parenthood.
How to Hold a Fertility Clinic or Storage Facility Accountable for Life-Changing Losses
There is a significant lack of oversight in the fertility industry in the U.S., with no government regulations dedicated to the operation of fertility clinics. Unfortunately, it is patients who pay the price.
If you are a victim of fertility clinic negligence in the form of lost or damaged genetic material, you have legal rights. Take these steps to start building a claim:
- Write down everything that happened in detail, including the names of the involved parties, the dates and times of related appointments, and your personal experience.
- Request all of your medical records from the fertility clinic, egg or embryo storage facility, or laboratory.
- Keep all communications from the fertility center, including letters, voicemails, messages and emails.
- Avoid signing anything – especially a settlement agreement – before speaking to a medical negligence attorney.
- Contact an experienced lawyer for assistance with your case. An attorney who understands the complexity of embryo, egg and sperm loss cases can help you protect your rights.
When medical standards are inconsistent or lacking in reproductive health care, an affected patient can get justice by filing a civil lawsuit. Holding a fertility clinic or storage center accountable through a medical negligence case can lead to financial compensation to help make the victim whole again, as well as push for changes on an institutional level.
Compensation Available for Victims of Reproductive Facility Negligence
No amount of money can ever make up for the loss of the potential future you and your family could have had had the fertility clinic properly handled and stored your eggs, embryos or sperm. This is a traumatic loss that does not have a price tag.
At Goldenberg Lauricella, PLLC, our lawyers pursue full and fair compensation for the deeply personal, emotional and financial losses suffered by clients in this situation. This may include:
- Pain and suffering. Compensation for your emotional distress, mental anguish, anxiety, psychological trauma, grief, depression and long-term pain caused by the loss.
- Medical bills. Reimbursement of the money you put into your fertility journey, including the cost of failed procedures, payments made to the clinic, corrective care or repeat treatments after the error, and foreseeable future expenses connected to the mistake.
- Lost genetic or reproductive opportunity. A unique type of loss in fertility cases. Compensation for the loss of the chance to use your stored reproductive material to have a biological child, carry a pregnancy or build your family on your own terms.
- Wrongful birth damages. The costs and damages arising from unintended parenthood, such as the birth of a child with a genetic condition that should have been detected, the use of the wrong embryo or sperm, or custody issues.
Though not as common, punitive damages may also be awarded if the fertility clinic was grossly negligent or engaged in reckless or unethical conduct. Punitive damages are an additional award designed to punish the defendant and deter future misconduct by the fertility center.
Contact Us for a Free Fertility Clinic Negligence Case Evaluation
Goldenberg Lauricella, PLLC has over 40 years of experience. We are known for getting life-changing results for life-changing losses. Our attorneys are committed to helping ensure that everyone benefits from the safe and successful fertility experience they deserve by holding facilities accountable for the mishandling, damage or loss of frozen eggs, embryos and sperm throughout the U.S. Call us today at (800) 903-1643 to discuss how we can help you during a free case evaluation.