Women’s safety is continually at risk, and their voices have historically been ignored or silenced by the medical profession. This is true even during some of the most personal and vulnerable situations. In vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment involves sharp medical tools. Without appropriate medication, intense and intolerable pain is certain.
Unfortunately, nearly one hundred patients who were being treated at Yale REI in Connecticut experienced this horror during infertility-related surgeries. Their complaints of pain over the course of months and years went ignored.
The patients, who were having difficulty conceiving or wanted to freeze their eggs, visited the center for routine surgical and retrieval procedures. Though the process is traditionally straightforward, it requires a prescribed amount of fentanyl for pain management during and post-treatment.
“Many of these women had sought treatment at the center because of Yale’s brand recognition,” says Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder PC partner Josh Koskoff, who, along with partner Kelly Fitzpatrick, leads the multi-plaintiff litigation. “But its reputation belied what happened to these women under the negligent watch of its administrators.”
Indeed, approximately one hundred patient s reported excruciating pain during and following the infertility-related surgeries.
No reasonable explanation was immediately offered, and the patients individually filed complaints. The federal investigation that stemmed from the case revealed the cause of this calamity.
“In the midst of a well-known opiate-addiction epidemic, Yale REI set up a sloppy system that was destined to fail. Without proper systems, protocols or oversight in place to prevent opiate abuse, over the course of months if not years, one of the nurses, Donna Monticone, swapped vials of fentanyl prescribed for pain management with saline solution,” says Koskoff, who was named a Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year” in 2023 and 2020 in Stamford, Connecticut for Medical Malpractice–Plaintiffs.
Monticone surrendered and pled guilty to federal charges. According to published reports, Yale had violated the record-keeping requirements of the Controlled Substances Act on at least 685 separate occasions. And though Yale paid $308,250 to the Department of Justice to resolve violations of the Controlled Substances Act, the victims sought further justice from Yale for their pain and suffering. They turned to Koskoff for representation in the lawsuit, knowing the Bridgeport-based firm had a reputation for unparalleled legal representation in precedent-setting medical malpractice and civil rights cases in Connecticut.
Koskoff partner Kelly Fitzpatrick co-leads the multi-plaintiff litigation on behalf of the 93 patient plaintiffs. In addition to being a qualified advocate, Fitzpatrick could immediately empathize with her clients, as she had recently undergone IVF treatment herself.
“I understand the psychological and physical toll that IVF can take on women and their families,” says Fitzpatrick, who Best Lawyers named the 2024 “Lawyer of the Year” in Stamford for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Action – Plaintiffs. After meeting with many of the clients and learning what they endured, Fitzpatrick says the case became more personal. “These women were literally crying out about their pain and were ignored. We are fighting to secure justice and compensation for Yale’s systemic failures and inexcusable conduct.”
The case is still in discovery and the Koskoff team expects the first trial to begin in 2025. Fitzpatrick says she hopes other IVF centers will take notice of the case as it builds and take every measure possible to provide adequate treatment to its patients.
One of the nurses swapped vials of fentanyl prescribed for pain management with saline solution.”
“It is incomprehensible that so many women experienced profound pain, were categorically ignored and are still fighting to be heard,” Fitzpatrick says. “These patients were violated, and through our advocacy, we hope to correct this injustice for our clients and prevent it from impacting other families.”
If Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder’s track record is any indication, its clients will be well cared for. Since its inception in 1936, the firm has established itself as a leader in the areas of catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death and other complex litigation. Koskoff is renowned for many landmark legal victories for injured plaintiffs throughout the years. Recent achievements include two history-making results in cases regarding the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
In the first case, Soto et al v. Bushmaster Firearms International, Koskoff attained a $73 million settlement, marking the first and only time in U.S. history that a gun manufacturer has been held accountable for a mass shooting. In the second case, Lafferty et al. v. Alex Jones, the firm attained a $1.5 billion verdict against notorious “conspiracy theorist” Alex Jones for this nearly decade-long harassment of 14 relatives of Sandy Hook victims and one FBI agent who were defamed by Jones. The verdict is believed to be the largest defamation verdict in U.S. history.
“The results from our civil trials and lawsuits have enhanced public safety and set a precedent for what can and cannot be tolerated in society,” Koskoff says, adding that the litigation against Yale University Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Clinic will hopefully signal a warning to other institutions that offer IVF and other reproductive treatments. “We want women to feel confident about their well-being when they seek IVF treatment, and we hope the results of our action against Yale REI will ease the minds of patients and future parents.”
