CT Fertility Clinic Mixed Up Embryos: Lawsuit

Update: The case was dismissed after the plaintiffs submitted an opinion letter from another doctor. The defendants argued the doctor didn't have a similar healthcare background. Read the full decision here.

TRUMBULL, CT — A couple from London is suing a now-closed Trumbull fertility clinic and a doctor after they had a child who isn’t biologically related, according to a lawsuit.

The lawsuit is against CT Fertility P.C. and Dr. Melvin Thornton. CT Fertility announced its closure and Thornton moved to another practice. Recently the couple filed a motion to have files sealed to protect their anonymity. A Superior Court judge hasn’t ruled on the request yet.

The couple signed up to have an anonymous donor egg used with the husband’s sperm due fertility challenges, according to the lawsuit. The embryo was then implanted in the wife. The couple had used the same egg donor to successfully conceive a child in 2016 and wanted the children to be full siblings.

After several attempts an embryo was successfully implanted and a child was born in August 2018. A couple months later the parents had both their children’s DNA profiled and they learned they weren’t full siblings and that the male plaintiff wasn’t the biological father of the child, according to the lawsuit. The second child appears to be a different race than the father.

“...the plaintiffs have reason to believe they have lost genetic material (embryos) belonging to them with no knowledge as to whether it has been transferred to another person, destroyed or frozen under an incorrect name,” the lawsuit states.

The couple fears that there could be a future custodial claim for their second son and that the father’s genetic material could have been used to conceive another child. The fate of the embryos remains unknown, according to the lawsuit.

“Haunting questions with no answers to date,” lawyer Stephanie Bernstein wrote in a court filing.

A Superior Court judge ordered the clinic in December 2018 to preserve genetic material related to the case until 30 days after litigation ends or another court order.

The IVF treatments cost approximately $200,000, according to the lawsuit. The couple is seeking damages in excess of $15,000. The lawsuit alleges negligence, emotional distress reckless misconduct and breach of contract.

Lawyers for Thornton and CT Fertility P.C. filed a motion to dismiss the case due to “lack of personal jurisdiction” and filed a motion to quash a subpoena for files saying that it would be unfair to start legal discovery before the discovery process has begun. A request for comment from Thornton and CT Fertility P.C.’s attorney wasn’t immediately returned.

Jury selection is scheduled for 2021.