Successful claim for negligent IVF care by London Women's Clinic | Fieldfisher
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Case Study

Successful claim for negligent IVF care by London Women's Clinic

A woman with short brown hair and glasses stands in front of a large window with a cityscape view. She wears a black, long-sleeved top and a gold-colored necklace. She has a neutral expression and her hands are clasped in front of her.
Caron Heyes
Two individuals in a laboratory setting are focused on a computer screen displaying a microscopic image. They are wearing surgical caps and gowns, indicating a sterile environment. The one on the left is manipulating a device, likely part of the microscope setup.

Caron Heyes has secured an £85,000 settlement for a couple who had viable embryos destroyed by the London Women's Clinic during IVF treatment.

Alice and Michael* paid for two rounds of fertility treatment at the private clinic after trying for a baby for several years. Their initial embryos were not suitable for implantation but after using a high-grade embryo from the second round the IVF treatment was successful and they gave birth to their much wished for first child. 

They instructed the clinic to store the rest of the embryos from that second round of treatment and were excited to try for another baby once their first had reached nursery age. Alice gave up full time work to look after their child and Michael is self-employed, so they planned the implantation at a time that would cause the least disruption to their family financially. 

The couple both found the IVF process quite distressing and were relieved that they had four frozen embryos with a high chance of success waiting securely at the clinic for them to implant. 

However, when Alice noticed at the start of 2023 that they had not received the annual billing for the egg storage, she called the London Women's Clinic and was told that their embryos had been destroyed.  

Shocked and devastated by the news, the couple entered a period of mourning. They had become emotionally attached to the possible future of their embryos and feel bereft that they have now been deprived of it. 

An investigation by the clinic found that human error led to a mix up between their first batch of unviable embryos and those produced their first child. A careless mistake meant the embryos with a high chance of success were destroyed and Alice and Michael lost the hope of their future baby.  

They will likely both need psychiatric treatment to help with the confusing sense of loss and Alice has been left with a deep mistrust of fertility medicine. 

They instructed Caron Heyes at Fieldfisher to pursue a medical negligence claim. She entered a lengthy battle with the clinic, which ignored correspondence for months and initial did not admit liability for negligence and breach of contract. 

Threatened with court proceedings, the London Women's Clinic made a low initial offer - which the family rejected on Caron's advice - but after five months of negotiations a settlement was reached. 

Unlike other cases of this kind where the embryos are treated as property, the family's legal team successfully argued that they are an extension of the person, so the loss was an injury to Alice and Michael. 

The £85,000 settlement secured by Caron included damages for the cost of any future fertility treatment they will need to create new embryos - including the costs of childcare and loss of earnings due to the disruption if the process, as well as the psychological injury caused to both parents. 

Alice and Michael have never received an official apology from the London Women's Clinic, which said an "accountancy error" led to the destruction of their embryos. 

Speaking at the end of the case about the work of Caron and her team, the family said:

'We would like to thank you, and your team, for the incredible empathy and compassion you showed us during our time with you. As you know, having spoken to other law firms, we were losing hope that we would find someone to represent us who understood the emotional impact the loss of our embryos had on us. It’s been a very difficult couple of years having to keep reliving what happened but your caring and understanding made it that much easier. We honestly believe that without you, we would not have achieved the outcome we did which will allow us to proceed with our fertility journey'.

* names changed 

Contact us

For further information about medical negligence claims please call Caron Heyes on 03304606743 or email caron.heyes@fieldfisher.com.

Alternatively

All enquiries are completely free of charge and we will investigate all funding options for you including no win, no fee.

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Medical Negligence Claims