Supreme Court affirms $34 million award against UConn Health. Decision excoriates fertility program.
Governor Ned Lamont will need to adjust his budget proposal. The State Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed a 2021 trial court decision awarding a Bristol family $34 million in damages arising out a negligent 2014 fertility procedure.
Aaron and Jean-Marie Monroe-Lynch learned in 2014 that they were pregnant with twins after a fertility procedure at UConn Health. Tragedy followed when the twins were born and discovered to have been infected with Cytomegalovirus (CMV). Shay was born dead. Her brother Joshua was born severe birth defects, including catastrophic neurological and developmental disabilities. Joshua requires constant care.
Writing for a unanimous court, Justice Joan Alexander noted in her opinion excoriating UConn Health’s fertility program, “it is clear that the state is both the party best equipped to avoid mishaps of this sort and the party best positioned to absorb and spread the costs of Joshua’s lifelong care. See Doe v. Cochran, supra, 332 Conn. 369. With respect to avoiding the harm, the state offers a highly specialized medical service that poses particular risks best known to the state and most efficiently pre- vented by it. The state regularly shepherds inexperi- enced and medically unsophisticated patients through the complex process of assisted reproduction. It would have required little effort and even less financial cost for Benadiva or a member of his staff to confirm the CMV status of the donor and to counsel Jean-Marie to select a different donor or, at least, to obtain her informed consent to be certain that she fully understood the serious risks of going forward under the circumstances.”
The plaintiffs were represented by the Walsh Woodard law firm located in West Hartford. The case was tried by Attorneys Michael Walsh, Karolina Dowd, and Caitlyn Malcynsky. After the trial, the case was handled by Attorney Linc Woodard. The appeal was handled by Attorney James Healy.
The Superior Court decision by Judge Mark Taylor and the emphatic unanimous high court opinion should prompt a review by the legislature on how the fourth branch of government, the University of Connecticut, handles claims against it: poorly. It should no longer be allowed to act as its own claims adjuster. UConn and the public would benefit from an independent review board that can assess claims and steer them to a resolution when the facts merit it.
UConn’s arrogance was on display in today’s fertility case and also in former UConn men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie’s claim for breach of contract and racial discrimination. UConn paid $15 million to Ollie, including $3.9 million to resolve his racism claim against the state’s premier public university.
This year’s UConn budget did not include an allocation sufficient to pay the medical malpractice claim, though observers were skeptical of its appeal strategy. The legislature will have to find the money and ought to ask probing questions on what steps UConn took to engage in meaningful settlement negotiations with both the Monroe-Lynch family and Ollie.
Published February 6, 2024.