15 Mar SAN FRANCISCO FERTILITY CLINIC EMBRYO DESTRUCTION LEADS TO FILING OF 2ND MAJOR CLASS ACTION BY SAME LAW FIRM IN SAME WEEK
Thousands of Eggs/Embryos Feared Lost in Pacific Fertility Clinic Case in San Francisco; On Monday, Similar Embryo-Loss Class Action Lawsuit Filed in Cleveland by Peiffer Wolf Carr & Kane Abdullah Carr & Kane.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – March 15, 2018 – The Sacramento couple who were to undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) in April at the Pacific Fertility Center, of San Francisco, were among the hundreds of couples whose lives have been shattered by the potential destruction of thousands of eggs and embryos by the local fertility clinic. Patients storing eggs or embryos at Pacific Fertility Center can get more information at https://pacificembryolawsuit.com/ about the class action lawsuit filed today by the law firm Peiffer Wolf Carr & Kane Abdullah Carr & Kane (PRW).
Today’s case marks the second time this week that PRW has filed a major embryo-loss class action lawsuit. In the wake of the destruction of 2000 eggs and embryos by the University Hospitals Fertility Clinic (UHFC), a class action lawsuit was filed Monday in Cleveland by Peiffer Wolf Carr & Kane Abdullah Carr & Kane. The firm is nationally recognized for its handling of a number of cases involving embryo loss/related cryogenic issues, including one being litigated this week in Orange County.
PRW Partner Adam Wolf said: “This is about the loss of our clients’ most sensitive and important property: their frozen embryos. Pacific Fertility Center’s squashed this couple’s dreams of becoming parents. Pacific Fertility promised to safeguard and protect Plaintiffs’ frozen embryos, vouching to maximize the couple’s chances of becoming pregnant and their opportunity to raise as many children as they would like.”
Wolf added: “Despite their agreement to maintain this position of extreme trust and fidelity and despite having charged the couple for storage of their frozen embryos for three years, Pacific Fertility Center destroyed these embryos by allowing the liquid nitrogen levels in the cryo-storage tank where the embryos were stored to dip below acceptable and necessary levels. As a result, our client’s embryos, as well as their dreams of future children, were irrevocably destroyed.”
Wolf emphasized that the Pacific Fertility Center case is familiar territory for the PRW law firm, which already has handled multiple cases in which fertility clinics were accused of either destroying or losing eggs and embryos. Wolf noted that this is a highly specialized area of law and science and that individuals seeking legal representation in the Pacific Fertility Center matter would be well advised to look to the law firm that has successfully handled such cases in the past.
Couples that entrust eggs/embryos for storage do so often after having exhausted other avenues of conception. In some cases, individuals and couples store eggs at an early age in anticipation of starting a family later in life. In still other cases, families with modest means will go deeply into debt to finance IVF procedures (which often must be repeated) and to pay for short- or long-term egg/embryo storage. For many older individuals and couples, a stored egg or embryo may be their only hope for giving birth with a lower risk of serious complications.
The couple were planning to schedule a transfer of one or more of their embryos on April 2018. In the meantime, Pacific Fertility stored the embryos—along with thousands of other embryos and eggs—in a cryo-storage tank, Tank No. 4, at Pacific Fertility’s laboratory. The couple paid $600 a year for the storage of their 8 embryos.
Earlier this month, the couple received devastating news. Pacific Fertility emailed them a notice informing them that their stored tissue “may have been impacted” when the liquid nitrogen in Tank No. 4 fell below necessary levels. The Pacific Fertility email continued: “We are incredibly sorry that this happened and for the anxiety that this will surely cause. We are heartbroken by this situation and our thoughts are with each of you who may have been touched by this event.”
The couple was informed that several hundred other Pacific Fertility clients received the same email.
The law firm Peiffer Wolf Carr & Kane Abdullah Carr & Kane maintains offices in San Francisco, Cleveland, New York, Los Angeles, Missouri, and New Orleans. PRW is available on the web at https://prwlegal.com.
CONTACTS: Alex Frank, (703) 276-3264 or [email protected].
EDITOR’S NOTE: A streaming audio replay of this news event will be available as of 9 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT at https://pacificembryolawsuit.com/. Adam Wolf and Tracy Cowan will be available for in-person interviews in San Francisco.
DOWNLOAD THE PRESS RELEASE HERE