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IVF Medical Negligence Claims

IVF mistakes cost NHS millions in medical negligence claims

For couples who are unable to conceive, IVF treatment may offer the promise of a dream come true. However it is a dream that does not come cheaply, with many saving for years for their chance to have children. Unfortunately, things do not always go smoothly, and when this happens the couple have a right to seek justice.

According to figures released by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the number of mistakes at IVF clinics in the UK has more than tripled in the past three years. The organisation is the independent regulator for IVF treatment in the UK.

Mistakes on the rise at fertility clinics

The HFEA revealed that between April 2010 and March 2011 there were 564 errors in IVF treatment, compared to 182 for the year from April 2007 to March 2008.

These new figures follow on from statistics released last year that showed that during 2008/2009 the number of errors at IVF clinics almost doubled in a year.

Such mistakes include the ‘loss’ of sperm and eggs which have been taken from the couple, the wrong sperm being injected into an egg, and even the implantation of embryos into the wrong women.

A spokesman for the HFEA commented that: “There has actually been a fall in the number of the most serious incidents. In the past year there were more than 50,000 cycles of IVF, which entails hundreds of thousands of laboratory procedures.” These positive statistics are unlikely to be seen as a ‘silver lining’ by the hundreds of couples affected by errors and mix-ups, though.

Furthermore these IVF mistakes may cost the NHS many millions of pounds in claims for medical negligence.

IVF treatment and medical negligence claims

When couple’s undergo IVF treatment they are effectively placing the future of their family into the hands of medical professionals. Their financial investment in the procedure meanwhile is often huge, and for many it is their only chance at conceiving a child.

So when things don’t go to plan, the couple have a right to answers, and the right to pursue compensation. If it can be proved that staff, or equipment used by the clinic, were to blame for the error then a claim of medical negligence can be brought against the individuals or organisation responsible.

Back in 2002, the IVF profession was hit by scandal when a white woman gave birth to black twins. At the time, Dr Sammy Lee, a clinical embryologist in a London hospital, warned that, “errors occur regularly [during IVF treatment],” and said that the incident: “serves notice on the profession. The time has come to tighten up.”

But these latest statistics seem to show that little improvement has taken place in the intervening years.

In 2007, fertility doctor Mohamed Taranissi was pursued for compensation by several women after it was alleged that he had been undertaking IVF treatment without a licence.

In 2009, a married couple were awarded a six-figure sum in compensation from an NHS trust in Wales, after their embryo was mistakenly implanted into another woman, who terminated the pregnancy after learning of the mix-up. All of these cases show that all areas of the medical profession, including IVF treatment, are liable to be held accountable if things go wrong and that anyone who has been the victim of medical negligence is entitled to compensation.

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