A Connecticut-based fertility company is facing several lawsuits that claim the company used a liquid solution that destroyed the embryos of dozens of families.
California attorney Tracey Cowan is representing several couples who she says are suffering emotionally after finding out their chances at having a child were jeopardized.
“If you think about all of your future children wiped out in one blow, that’s what our clients are grappling with,” Cowan said.
Cowan, a partner at Clarkson Law Firm, is the lead attorney in a handful of lawsuits against CooperSurgical, an IVF product manufacturer in Trumbull.
On Tuesday, the firm filed three additional lawsuits in California, where CooperSurgical’s parent company is located.
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“Defendants’ defective product and negligent conduct destroyed Plaintiffs’ precious and irreplaceable developing embryos,” the lawsuit states.
“What went wrong in this situation is that there is a solution, there is a liquid that they put in the petri dish, that is supposed to help support the embryos as they develop and that liquid was missing key nutrients, specifically here was missing magnesium,” Cowan said.
Cowan said the firm learned from their clients’ doctors there was a manufacturing problem at CooperSurgical, which impacted families getting IVF treatments at clinics across the country between November and early December of last year.
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“You could imagine it’s a huge loss for people to know those children, those embryos they created, which were intended to be their future children, are lost forever, they will never get those back,” Cowan said.
Attorney Adam Wolf of Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway and Wise represents about 60 additional clients, including families in Connecticut.
Wolf has filed two lawsuits against the manufacturing company.
“This never should have happened, and it should be no surprise to CooperSurgical that there are lawsuits filed and will continue to be filed,” Wolf said.
CooperSurgical said in a statement:
"While we cannot address ongoing litigation, quality and compliance are fundamental parts of the value we provide to our customers and are our core focus.
In accordance with the requirements of our quality management system, a media recall was initiated to proactively address any possible issue with our products while we continue to investigate.”
