SAN FRANCISCO FERTILITY CLINIC DESTROYS EMBRYOS, CAUSES HEARTBREAK

San Francisco, September 14, 2009 – Hersh & Hersh announces that today it has filed a civil action in San Francisco County on behalf of Katherine Aschero (Katie) and Rob Aschero. The case involves the destruction of viable embryos without the Ascheros’ consent by a San Francisco fertility clinic. The embryo destruction is shocking in several respects and demonstrates the need for regulation of these clinics.

The complaint alleges that Laurel Fertility Care and its medical and clinical personnel harmed the plaintiffs by fertilizing many of Katie’s harvested eggs with a stranger’s sperm, rather than that of her husband Rob. The Aschero’s were informed of this after the fact, but Laurel Fertility Care and its personnel destroyed the resulting viable embryos without the Aschero’s consent and in violation of the contract entered into by the parties. The Ascheros have suffered greatly from this horrendous outcome of what had promised to be a potentially joyful event.

Shockingly, this is not the first time something like this has happened in the same laboratory on the same premises. Hersh & Hersh represented a woman whose eggs were fertilized with the wrong man's sperm in the same laboratory at the same location when another physician owned the practice. He lost his medical license after withholding the fact that he had fertilized her eggs with the wrong sperm, only to reveal the truth when the baby was two years old and after a Medical Board investigation. This resulted in a custody battle between the woman and the man whose sperm had been used.

The practice was sold and one of the defendants in the Aschero case set up shop in the same place and made the same mistake in the same lab. Only this time they told Katie and Rob of the mistake, but destroyed the healthy embryos produced without their permission and in violation of their contract and their wishes.

“The Asheros have suffered innumerable sorrows from defendants’ actions,” reflected Nancy Hersh, a founding partner of the firm. “They chose this particular clinic because of claims made by the clinic with regard to their care and success rate. Katie went through extraordinary physical and emotional trauma not only to provide the eggs, but hopefully to have a child as a result of the extensive and costly process involved.  Instead, she has very little hope of having a child with her husband, or at all, due to the defendants’ actions.”

The complaint alleges negligence, breach of contract, fraud by concealment among other claims. Punitive damages and a jury trial are sought. For a copy of the complaint and more information on the case, please contact Nancy Hersh at 1-800-441-5545.

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