Embryo destruction lawsuits overview:
- Who: A pair of couples from Los Angeles filed lawsuits against CooperSurgical Inc.
- Why: The couple claim CooperSurgical, a fertility and women’s health company, failed to recall an allegedly toxic solution prior to it allegedly destroying their developing embryos.
- Where: The lawsuits were filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles.
A pair of couples from Los Angeles filed lawsuits against CooperSurgical over claims the fertility and women’s health company failed to recall a toxic solution prior to it allegedly destroying their developing embryos.
CooperSurgical recalled three lots of its embryo culture media in December over concerns the solution could impair embryo development prior to reaching the blastocyst stage.
The company said it decided to initiate the recall after it became aware of a “sudden increase” of complaints regarding the recalled solution, while saying at that time that it did not know the cause of the performance concern.
The couples, meanwhile, both claim CooperSurgical failed to “sufficiently test” its embryo culture media and only recalled some of them after it was made aware they had led to the destruction of embryos that could not be replaced.
“Defendants’ defective product and negligent conduct destroyed Plaintiffs’ precious and irreplaceable embryos,” the CooperSurgical lawsuits state.
CooperSurgical knew, should have known embryo culture media was not properly tested, inspected for contamination, suits say
The couples, which both say they are “devastated,” argue CooperSurgical either knew or should have known some of their embryo culture media was not, among other things, properly tested or inspected for contamination.
“Defendants knew that sterility and quality control are crucial to ensure that developing embryos in culture media are not harmed,” the CooperSurgical lawsuits state.
The couples claim CooperSurgical is guilty of negligence and negligent failure to recall and of violating strict products liability via manufacturing defect, design defect and failure to warn.
The plaintiffs in both cases are demanding a jury trial and requesting an award of past, present and future non-economic and economic damages along with exemplary damages.
In past embryo-related news, a class action lawsuit was filed against CareFirst BlueChoice in April 2021 over claims the health insurance provider would regularly deny essential embryo thawing services to in-vitro fertilization policyholders.
Have you been injured by CooperSurgical? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by Adam Wolf and Melisa Rosadini-Knott of Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise LLP.
The Embryo destruction lawsuits are A.B., et al. v. CooperSurgical Inc., et al. and E.F., et al. v. CooperSurgical Inc., et al. in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles.
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