$15 million rewarded to five people whose embryos were lost in freezer tank malfunction

$15 million rewarded to five people whose embryos were lost in freezer tank malfunction at a San Francisco fertility clinic setting legal precedent for similar losses

  • Five victims were rewarded $15 million by a jury after a freezer tank containing embryos at Pacific Fertility Center in San Francisco malfunctioned in 2018
  • A federal jury in California found Chart Industries Inc. was responsible for defects in a tank that that caused the destruction of human eggs and embryos  
  • On March 4, 2018, the Pacific Fertility Center said a piece of equipment in its cryo-storage laboratory ‘lost liquid nitrogen for a brief period of time’ 
  • The jury determined the Chart Inc. knew or should have known about the defect and failed to recall the tank
  • The five plaintiffs, which included three women and a couple, were rewarded between $2.07 million and $7.2 million in damages 

 


Five victims received $15 million after a freezer tank containing embryos at a California fertility clinic malfunctioned. 

A federal jury in California on Thursday found Chart Industries Inc. was responsible for defects in a cryopreservation tank that caused the destruction of human eggs and embryos at The Pacific Fertility Center in San Francisco in 2018. 

Chart will pay five victims $15 million in the first verdict to reward damages to victims who have lost their chance to have biological children due to a freezer tank malfunction, CNN reported.   

Five victims were rewarded $15 million by a jury after a freezer tank containing embryos at Pacific Fertility Center in San Francisco (pictured) malfunctioned in 2018

A federal jury in California found Chart Industries Inc. was responsible for defects in a tank that that caused the destruction of human eggs and embryos (pictured)

A federal jury in California found Chart Industries Inc. was responsible for defects in a tank that that caused the destruction of human eggs and embryos (pictured)

The verdict sets a precedent for other pending similar claims, said Adam Wolf, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys.

‘These families have suffered an unspeakable loss and still struggle every day with the tragedy that took place more than three years ago at Pacific Fertility Center,’ Wolf, of Peiffer Wolf law firm in Los Angeles, told Bloomberg Law in a statement.   

On March 4, 2018 The Pacific Fertility Center said a piece of equipment in its cryo-storage laboratory ‘lost liquid nitrogen for a brief period of time’ leading to the destruction of certain stored frozen embryos.

‘We are truly sorry this happened and for the anxiety that this will surely cause,’ Pacific Fertility Center said in an apology after the incident. 

On Thursday, a jury in the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that Chart, the tank manufacturer, was 90 percent responsible for the damages suffered by the plaintiffs, while Pacific Fertility Center was 10 percent at fault.   

The court said claims against the center must be arbitrated. 

On March 4, 2018, the Pacific Fertility Center said a piece of equipment in its cryo-storage laboratory 'lost liquid nitrogen for a brief period of time'

On March 4, 2018, the Pacific Fertility Center said a piece of equipment in its cryo-storage laboratory ‘lost liquid nitrogen for a brief period of time’

The jury determined the Chart Inc. knew or should have known about the defect and failed to recall the tank that led to the destruction on victim's eggs and embryos

The jury determined the Chart Inc. knew or should have known about the defect and failed to recall the tank that led to the destruction on victim’s eggs and embryos 

Chart became aware of the defect after the tank was sold but failed to recall the equipment or fix the problem, according to the verdict.  

The jury determined the company knew or should have known about the defect and failed to recall the tank, Bloomberg Law reported.   

The five plaintiffs, which included three women and a couple, were rewarded between $2.07 million and $7.2 million each in damages for the loss of the eggs and embryos as well as their pain, suffering and emotional distress, Bloomberg Law reported.  

Wolf told Bloomberg Law that nearly 200 other patients from the San Francisco clinic are awaiting their day in court or in arbitration proceedings.

In an unrelated event on the same weekend in 2018, more than 2,000 frozen eggs and embryos also were compromised at the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center after a malfunction caused temperatures to drop in the freezers where they were stored, CNN reported.  

In February 2020, two new lawsuits were filed against the Cleveland clinic.