Yale University Settles Fertility Clinic Lawsuit

Ryan J. Farrick — September 14, 2024

Yale University. Image via Pixabay. Public domain.

Each of the plaintiffs allegedly underwent “painful and invasive procedures for in vitro fertilization” at the Yale University Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility clinic in Orange, Connecticut. They were supposed to have received fentanyl in preparation for their procedure—but were instead given saline, a solution consisting of nothing more than salt and water.

Yale University has agreed to pay a “substantial” sum to settle allegations that a nurse at its fertility clinic regularly sabotaged egg retrieval procedures by replacing patients’ anesthesia with saline.

“What should have been a hopeful and joyous time […] turned into a traumatic experience,” plaintiff Soryorelis Henry said in a statement. “No one should ever have to endure what we went through. My hope is that this case leads to system changes and ensures no other patient experiences such suffering.”

According to The New York Times, the amount of the settlement has not yet been disclosed. In court filings last year, attorneys for the women had asked for about $2 million in compensation for each plaintiff.

“This mutual agreement allows both parties to move forward and begin healing,” said Yale spokesperson Karen Peart.

The Associated Press notes that each of the plaintiffs allegedly underwent “painful and invasive procedures for in vitro fertilization” at the Yale University Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility clinic in Orange, Connecticut. They were supposed to have received fentanyl in preparation for their procedure—but were instead given saline, a solution consisting of nothing more than salt and water.

Yale University, Law School; image courtesy of Pradipta Mitra via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/

All of the women informed staff that they were experiencing extreme pain during and after their procedures, but their concerns were dismissed.

Police investigators later determined that 75% of all fentanyl provided to patients between June 2020 and October 2020 was adulterated by saline. Donna Monticone, a nurse who no longer works with Yale, was eventually sentenced to several “four weekends in prison, three months of home confinement, and three years of supervised release” for tampering with consumer products.

Monticone, writes The Associated Press, used the stolen fentanyl to feed her own addiction. She has since apologized to the patients.

Attorneys for the fertility clinic victims say that Monticone had likely been taking fentanyl for a longer period of time—and that, over the course of about two years, nobody at the clinic made much of an effort to understand why so many women were complaining of extreme pain during their procedures.

“Yale University providers ignored the anguished cries of women undergoing these treatments,” lawyer Joshua Koskoff said. “And for over two years, nobody asked a very simple question. Why? Why were so many women who didn’t know each other […] experiencing this excruciating pain akin to torture, for a procedure that Yale University itself promoted as being of minimal or no discomfort?”