Lost/Destroyed Embryos

If Your Embryos Have Been Lost, Destroyed or Misused, Our Lawyers Can Help.

Fertility clinics typically freeze and store embryos or eggs using a process called vitrification. This involves rapidly freezing them in liquid nitrogen, which prevents the formation of ice crystals that can damage the cells. The embryos or eggs are then stored in a cryogenic container at a temperature of -196 degrees Celsius.

Embryos, eggs and other genetic material can get accidentally lost, destroyed, or misused by fertility clinics in a number of ways. Some examples include:

Human error, such as mislabeling or mishandling of the embryos or eggs.
Power outages or equipment failures that cause the liquid nitrogen levels in the storage tanks to drop.
Natural disasters, such as floods or fires.
Theft or loss of the embryos/eggs during transport.
Misconduct by clinic staff, such as using embryos or eggs for unauthorized research or experimentation.
Confusion or disputes over ownership or disposition of the embryos.

It is important that fertility clinics have strict protocols in place to prevent these types of incidents and to ensure the safe and responsible handling of embryos, eggs and genetic material. When fertility clinics fail to ensure the safety of patients’ genetic material, embryo loss lawsuits may be necessary to hold them accountable. Our team of lawyers assists individuals and families who have been harmed by these failures. The Fertility Law Group helps clients navigate what can be an incredibly emotional and confusing ordeal, offering compassionate guidance backed by meaningful case results in complex fertility malpractice claims.

Experience Handling Lost and Destroyed Embryo Cases

Fertility Law Group has represented families in complex cases involving lost, destroyed, damaged, and improperly handled embryos. Our attorneys have investigated fertility laboratory failures, cryogenic storage problems, mishandling of genetic material, and other breakdowns in the systems designed to protect embryos.

This experience gives our team a practical understanding of both the fertility medicine involved and the evidence that may determine how an embryo loss occurred.

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If you have questions about your rights or your options, please contact us for a free consultation. There is no obligation and we keep all inquiries strictly confidential.

How Our Lawyers Assist Victims Who Lost Embryos.

Our team of experienced fertility malpractice lawyers can help people who have been victims of a fertility center losing, destroying, or misusing frozen embryos in a number of ways. Some of things our firm can do for families include:

Advising clients on the legal options available to them: Our fertility malpractice lawyers can help you understand the legal landscape surrounding frozen embryos and genetic material, including any laws or regulations that may apply to your situation, and assist in identifying what options are available to you.

Negotiating with the clinic for compensation: As a first step, we typically attempt to negotiate a settlement with the fertility clinic, so as to avoid putting a grieving family through the stress of a lawsuit. Settlements may include financial compensation for emotional distress, loss of ability to have biological children (if applicable), and other financial losses. Settlements may also include the return of any remaining embryo/eggs, or other forms of redress.

Filing a lawsuit: If negotiations fail, we can file a lawsuit against the fertility clinic for damages, seeking compensation for all the harms suffered by the family or individual. In egregious cases, we can also seek punitive damages against the clinic and persons involved. Our attorneys have won numerous, multi-million dollar verdicts on behalf of our clients. When possible, we typically file lawsuits using pseudonyms instead of our clients’ real names, so as to protect their identities and their privacy.

Advocating for changes in laws and regulations regarding the storage and handling of frozen embryos: We are passionate about increased regulation of fertility clinics. We continually push for stricter oversight and penalties for clinics that fail to properly care for embryos, as well as greater transparency in terms of how clinics handle and dispose of embryos. Unfortunately, these changes in the laws often only occur when lawmakers are confronted by public outcry over fertility clinic misconduct.

It is important to note that laws and regulations regarding frozen embryos are complicated, and can vary from state to state. Our attorneys handle cases across the country, and are well-versed in this area of law. The Fertility Law Group is dedicated to helping clients navigate this emotional legal process. Please contact us for a free consultation – we are here to help and to answer your questions.

Frequently Asked Questions: Lost & Destroyed Embryos

What compensation can we recover if our embryos were lost or destroyed?

Compensation typically includes the profound emotional harm of losing embryos, the cost of the IVF cycles, medications, genetic testing, and storage fees that created them, and the expense of future treatment. Where the loss ended a family's realistic chance at a genetic child, damages rise substantially. Juries take these losses seriously: verdicts in embryo-loss cases have reached eight figures.

The clinic offered us a refund or small settlement. Should we accept it?

Not before speaking with a lawyer. Early offers usually come with releases that permanently end your right to full compensation, and they are almost always a small fraction of what these cases are worth. You are under no obligation to respond on the clinic's timeline, and a consultation costs nothing.

What if the clinic blames a storage tank or culture media manufacturer?

That can actually strengthen your case. Claims against manufacturers of failed tanks, sensors, or embryo culture media are product liability claims, which are generally not subject to medical malpractice damage caps and often involve substantial insurance coverage. In the Pacific Fertility tank failure, a jury assigned 90% of the fault to the tank manufacturer.

How long do we have to file a claim for lost or destroyed embryos?

Deadlines vary by state and by legal theory, and some are as short as one year. Many families do not learn the full story of how their embryos were lost until long after it happened, and discovery rules may extend the deadline, but that is a case-specific legal question. The safest course is to speak with counsel as soon as you learn of a loss.

Do we still have a case if only some of our embryos were lost?

Potentially, yes. Every embryo represents real physical, emotional, and financial investment, and the loss of any of them can be compensable, particularly for patients with diminished ovarian reserve or limited ability to create more. The strength of the claim depends on how the loss occurred and what it took from your family.