In a headline that sounds like it’s fit for the tabloids, a couple has filed a lawsuit after giving birth to another couple’s babies. According to the lawsuit, the IVF (In-Vitro-Fertilization) clinic implanted the wrong babies into the mother who was expecting twin girls. Instead, she gave birth to two boys who ostensibly looked nothing like her or her husband. Since both parents were American and of Asian descent, they were quite a bit surprised to find that their babies were not. The couple alleges that not only did the IVF clinic mix up the embryos, but they eventually figured out what they did and attempted to conceal it.
Making matters even worse, the two babies appeared to belong to two different couples. The couple was forced to give the babies up to their genetic parents after tests were performed to determine whose they were.
This Happens More than You Think
According to technicians who work at fertility clinics, growing a viable human embryo isn’t as easy as watering a plant. The process requires over 200 distinct steps and there’s a lot that can go wrong at each individual stage. That being said, putting the right embryo into the correct mother should be among the easier steps to carry out.
In many cases, parents may not even know that it happened. When Asian parents give birth to white babies, someone will likely stop and question the process. However, if a white baby is implanted into a white mother with a white husband, they may not be inclined to have the child’s DNA tested to ensure that it’s theirs.
In cases such as these, it is usual for former patients to sue for negligent infliction of emotional distress. As one could imagine, many of the hopes and dreams of prospective parents lay at the feet of their ability to procreate. When they can’t do this easily themselves, they elicit the help of a fertility clinic. They wait months for a viable embryo to be created and then nine more months while the baby or babies gestated inside the mother. When they are forced to give away the babies due to an error by the IVF clinic, They understandably feel as though they’ve just wasted the last (nearly two years) of their life and are devastated on a day that should have been one of the happiest of their lives.
They deserve to be compensated for that.
In this case, the couple is alleging that the fertility clinic attempted to cover up the mistake. If that’s the case, the fertility clinic may be liable for fraud and punitive damages as well.
Talk to a Tampa Medical Malpractice Attorney
If you’ve been injured by medical malpractice or had a bad experience with a fertility clinic, the Tampa medical malpractice attorneys at Palmer | Lopez can help you recover damages related to the event. Talk to us today to set up a free consultation. We can help.
Resource:
cbsnews.com/news/couple-says-wrong-embryos-implanted-by-ivf-clinic-in-unimaginable-mishap/
