The Injury Litigation Blog

Facts and Opinions.
Feel free to disregard the opinions.

Connecticut Couple is Awarded $37.6 Million for Botched Fertility Procedure

By Stephanie Yanovich

Justice was finally served last week for a Connecticut couple who endured the devastating effects of an improperly performed fertility procedure. According to the civil complaint filed with the Hartford District Superior Court, a woman became pregnant with twins in 2013 after being artificially inseminated with donor sperm at the University of Connecticut Health Center (UConn Health). One of her twins died in utero, and the other was born with severe and permanent disabilities. She and her husband alleged that medical negligence on the part of UConn Health caused this tragic outcome. A judge agreed and awarded them $37,621,026.53 in damages.

The couple was represented by Michael J. Walsh of Walsh Woodward LLC, who argued the case before a Hartford Superior Court judge. There were two key issues set forth in the lawsuit: whether UConn failed to obtain the plaintiffs’ informed medical consent during the fertility treatment, and whether UConn failed to provide appropriate prenatal care once pregnancy occurred.

Walsh alleged that UConn Health did not properly advise the plaintiffs of the dangers in using sperm from a donor whose blood had tested positive for cytomegalovirus (CMV). CMV is a common infection that is usually asymptomatic in adults but can have catastrophic effects on a fetus when passed through the placenta. The complaint details how the plaintiffs unknowingly chose sperm from a CMV positive donor for an artificial insemination procedure, and how UConn, in violation of their own written policies and procedures, approved and authorized their selection. The co-plaintiff became pregnant with twins using the CMV positive sperm while reportedly unaware of the dangers it posed to her babies if the virus transferred to her.

Per the complaint, she did indeed contract CMV during the insemination process, and the virus was then passed to her twins in utero. Walsh and the appellants maintained that there were warning signs of the transferal as early as 22 weeks’ gestation, when a prenatal scan revealed anatomical abnormalities consistent with CMV infection. However, UConn apparently failed to further investigate and diagnose these findings, depriving the couple of the choice to terminate the pregnancy before it further ravaged their developing babies. The co-plaintiff ultimately delivered a stillborn girl and an acutely impaired boy at 37 weeks of pregnancy. Testing on both newborns revealed a critical CMV infection.

Walsh and the plaintiffs claimed that this shattering event was the direct result of a dereliction of medical duty on the part of UConn. Clearly, the judge concurred that UConn should be held responsible.

Included in the judgement is $24 million for economic damages, which can encompass past and future household and medical expenses and lost wages. The judge also allotted over $13 million in non-economic damages, which are designed to address the subjective losses resulting from an injury – the pain, suffering, and physical and emotional trauma that are not easily quantifiable. In this case, the distress of delivering a stillborn baby combined with the fact that a surviving child will require lifelong medical care likely contributed to the high dollar decision in their favor.

 

 

 

JUNE 2021 MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASES IN AND AROUND BALTIMORE

By Stephanie Yanovich

There were about 17 medical malpractice suits filed in the month of June. Some hospitals are listed as co-defendants in suits against individual practitioners, and vice versa. These are for cases listed as medical malpractice or med mal, excluding PG County and Montgomery County which do not break out their statistics or list cases as […]

West Virginia Jury Awards $10.8 Million in Birth Injury Lawsuit

By Stephanie Yanovich

Justice was finally served last week for a West Virginia child who reportedly sustained devastating brain damage during birth. According to the district court complaint filed by her parents on her behalf, Aubrie Hysell did not receive adequate oxygen during the labor and delivery process at Raleigh General Hospital in 2010. She was later diagnosed […]

January 2021 Medical Malpractice Cases in and around Baltimore

By Byron Warnken

Below are Baltimore area medical malpractice cases that were filed in circuit courts in Maryland in January 2021.  This is meant to be a near comprehensive list, not including cases filed in Prince George’s County or Montgomery County, as those counties report statistics into the MD Judiciary Case Search in a different format. There were […]

DECEMBER 2020 MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAWSUITS IN AND AROUND BALTIMORE MARYLAND

By Stephanie Yanovich

There were about 24 medical malpractice suits filed in the month of December. Some hospitals are listed as co-defendants in suits against individual practitioners, and vice versa.  These are for cases listed as medical malpractice or med mal, excluding PG County and Montgomery County which do not break out their statistics or list cases as […]

NOVEMBER 2020 MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAWSUITS IN AND AROUND BALTIMORE MARYLAND

By Stephanie Yanovich

There were about 22 medical malpractice suits filed in the month of November. Some hospitals are listed as co-defendants in suits against individual practitioners, and vice versa.  These are for cases listed as medical malpractice or med mal, excluding PG County and Montgomery County which do not break out their statistics or list cases as […]