An appeal of a US landmark jury verdict awarding nearly $15m to five people who lost embryos and eggs in a fertility clinic mishap has settled out of court, although payments are still to be made.
“All parties have executed a confidential settlement agreement,” said attorneys for Chart Inc, the manufacturer of a tank that contained the human tissue.
More than 2 500 embryos and 1 500 eggs belonging to more than 400 people were in the cryo-preservation tank at Pacific Fertility Centre in San Francisco when it malfunctioned in March 2018, reports The Washington Post.
The tank was designed to keep embryos and eggs frozen at nearly 200 degrees below-zero Celsius. Many were damaged when they quickly thawed.
It is unclear how many of those people will share in what may be a substantial monetary settlement.
In a rare bellwether trial in federal court, jurors found Chart liable for 90% of the damage, and the fertility clinic responsible for 10%. They awarded three women and a married couple a total of nearly $15m in 2021.
According to experts, the verdict may have been the first to assign a value to embryos and eggs, and award damages in a public legal proceeding. Most fertility cases are settled out of court.
Chart appealed, and the case was scheduled for oral argument on 30 March in the US Court of Appeals. According to a court filing, 341 people filed arbitration claims, which also are not made public, against the fertility clinic.
In a coincidence, more than 4 000 eggs and embryos were lost the same weekend when another tank in an Ohio fertility clinic also malfunctioned. Those cases appear to have been settled out of court.
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