The Connecticut Supreme Court has cleared the way for a lawsuit against a fertility doctor accused of secretly using his own sperm to impregnate patients. The decision overturns lower court rulings that dismissed the case.
Kayla Suprynowicz and Reilly Flaherty discovered in 2019 through 23andMe genetic testing that they were half-siblings. They subsequently sued Dr. Narendra B. Tohan, a reproductive endocrinologist who assisted their parents with in vitro fertilization treatments. The sisters allege that Dr. Tohan, without their mothers’ knowledge or consent, substituted his sperm for the sperm of the men they believed to be their fathers.
The lawsuit claims Dr. Tohan’s actions caused them mental anguish and potentially exposed them to unknown medical risks. The plaintiffs argue their parents never agreed to the use of donor sperm, and no genetic testing was conducted to ensure Dr. Tohan was a suitable donor.
Lower courts dismissed the case, classifying it as a “wrongful birth” claim, a cause of action not recognized in Connecticut. Wrongful birth lawsuits typically challenge the fact of a person’s birth. However, the Supreme Court distinguished this case from wrongful birth, arguing that it pertains to the doctor’s alleged negligence in causing the pregnancies and subsequent harm.
“Unlike wrongful life claims, in which ‘the defendant bears no direct responsibility for the child’s condition,’ in this case, the defendant is alleged to be responsible both for the pregnancies and the alleged harm,” Chief Justice Raheem Mullins wrote in the court’s January 14th opinion. The court emphasized that, for the purposes of the appeal, all allegations made by the plaintiffs are accepted as true.
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The Supreme Court’s decision draws a distinction between wrongful life claims and ordinary negligence. In negligence suits, the plaintiff argues the defendant’s actions directly caused the pregnancy and resulting harm. The court concluded that because the plaintiffs allege Dr. Tohan’s unauthorized use of his own sperm directly caused their harm, the case can proceed.
Dr. Tohan had initially attempted to dismiss the case as a medical malpractice claim, arguing the plaintiffs failed to meet procedural requirements and were not his patients. After the trial court rejected these arguments, he contended the case was essentially a wrongful life claim. The trial judge agreed and dismissed the case, a decision that was upheld by the appeals court. However, the Connecticut Supreme Court’s ruling in Lynch v. State, which reinstated a large jury verdict in a case involving allegedly contaminated donor sperm, provided a precedent for distinguishing negligence from wrongful life claims and ultimately paved the way for the current lawsuit to move forward.
David B. Newdorf represented the plaintiffs, while Thomas J. Plumridge represented the defense.
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