Punitive Damages Returned for Sperm Switch
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A New Hanover County jury returned a verdict of $85,000.00 in compensatory damages and $350,000.00 in punitive damages against a Wellington Fertility Clinic.
The plaintiff was inseminated with two-day-old unwashed sperm from an unknown donor. A nurse practitioner used an unlabeled syringe from the clinic's incubator without checking her logbook or verifying the donor and used it for the insemination. This unidentified sperm was used instead of a prepared specimen from the sperm bank.
This injection triggered a severe allergic reaction in the plaintiff and caused her emotion distress over the possible exposure to HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
The plaintiff took steps to prevent a possible pregnancy.
The fertility clinic waited a few days after the mishap to tell the plaintiff what actually happened.
Liability for this error was imposed by the court in response to the plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment. The court held that the fertility clinic was liable and that there was no need for a jury to hear that issue.
The court did send the case to the jury to answer the issue of how much compensatory and punitive damages should be awarded. The jury returned a verdict of $85,000.00 in compensatory damages against the nurse practitioner and the fertility clinic. They also awarded $350,000.00 in punitive damages. This amount of punitive damages was more than allowed under a state law passed several years ago which took away the right of local juries to fully assess the proper amount punitive damages. Punitive damages are now limited to $250,000.00 or three times the amount of compensatory damages, whichever is greater. Accordingly, the court reduced the punitive damage award to $250,000.00.
The basis for the punitive damages verdict was evidence that the nurse practitioner demonstrated a reckless disregard or indifference to the rights and safety of the plaintiff. the nurse testified that she made a conscious decision to violate the clinic's safety procedures.
Because the plaintiff was living day-to-day with a fear of a dreaded disease as a result of the unknown sperm sample, she reluctantly agreed to terminate the pregnancy by taking eight morning-after pills, a euphemistic term for a clinical abortion.
Because of this whole experience, the plaintiff decided that she would not put herself in this situation again by undergoing insemination and decided instead to adopt a child.
The case, Chambliss v. Health Sciences Foundation, was expected to later be appealed to the North Carolina Court of Appeals.