NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Dozens of women who say they suffered excruciating pain at a Yale University fertility clinic because a nurse stole fentanyl for her own use and replaced it with saline have settled their lawsuits against the Ivy League school.
Patients and their lawyers announced the settlements Monday in New Haven, Connecticut, where Yale is based. Details of the agreements were not released, but lawyers said they included significant financial settlements.
“What should have been a hopeful and joyous time ... turned into a traumatic experience," said Soryorelis Henry, one of the plaintiffs. "No one should ever have to endure what we went through. My hope is that this case leads to systemic changes and ensures no other patient experiences such suffering.”
The women say they underwent painful and invasive procedures for in vitro fertilization and were supposed to receive fentanyl at the Yale University Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility clinic in Orange, Connecticut, and its prior location in New Haven.
Unbeknownst to them, they received saline instead of fentanyl, and when they told staff of their extreme pain during and after the procedures, their concerns were dismissed, according to lawsuits filed by the women and their spouses. They said Yale officials failed to safeguard supplies of the painkiller.
Yale said in a statement that the agreement “allows both parties to move forward and begin healing,” adding that it has instituted new safeguards since discovering the nurse’s actions, including more training and supervision.
Seven women initially sued Yale in 2021. Dozens more patients later came forward and filed lawsuits, bringing the total number of plaintiffs to more than 150, including nearly 100 patients. Many of them say they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder because of what happened to them.
Shannon Garfield said she had her first IVF treatment at Yale's clinic in 2019. She went on to have several more procedures that led to the birth of her son, who is now 1.
“I was completely awake and in so much pain, as I was crying and yelling,” she said at the news conference. “It’s horrible to think of how many countless victims there are, and this further exemplifies a system where women’s voices don’t seem to matter.”
In May 2021, nurse Donna Monticone, who no longer works for the clinic, was sentenced to four weekends in prison, three months of home confinement and three years of supervised release. She pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product.
Prosecutors said 75% of the fentanyl given to patients at the clinic from June to October 2020 was adulterated by saline. They said Monticone replaced the fentanyl with saline to feed her addiction to the opioid. She apologized to the affected patients during her sentencing hearing.
Joshua Koskoff, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said Monticone’s misconduct with fentanyl went on for multiple years.
“Yale University providers ignored the anguished cries of women undergoing these treatments,” he said. “And for over two years, nobody asked a very simple question. Why? Why were so many women who didn’t know each other … experiencing this excruciating pain akin to torture, for a procedure that Yale University itself promoted as being of minimal or no discomfort?”
The lawsuits accused Yale officials of failing to follow mandated pharmacy protocols and allowing vials of fentanyl to be vulnerable to tampering. The suits also alleged Yale violated state and federal laws by keeping more than 175 vials of fentanyl in an unsupervised and unlocked area, and failed to implement safeguards including drug testing staff with access to opioids.
The lawsuits included civil allegations of medical assault and battery and medical malpractice. They said hundreds of patients potentially were unknowingly treated with saline instead of fentanyl at the clinic.
Dave Collins, The Associated Press
