Sperm bank sued under product liability law

[blahblah99]

SPERM should be subject to the same product liability laws as car brakes, according to a US judge who has given a teenager with severe learning disabilities the go-ahead to sue the sperm bank that provided her with a biological father.

Brittany Donovan, now 13 years old, was born with fragile X syndrome, a genetic disorder causing mental impairment and carried on the X chromosome. She is now suing the sperm bank, Idant Laboratories of New York, under a product liability law more commonly associated with manufacturing defects, such as faulty car brakes.

Link to full article.

Talk about ridiculous lawsuits. I feel bad for the teenager with the genetic disorder, but come on, unless the sperm bank failed to disclose medical details about the donor, I don't see how this lawsuit can gain any traction. It's really the mom's decision that affected her life - she should be the one being sued for signing the go ahead.

 

[Newbian]

Post about it.

 

[Atreus21]

This will be amazing precedent.

 

[whylaff]

The judge answered a jurisdictional question...

How truly shocking.

 

[Brainonska511]

I don't see how you could test for this kind of stuff in at a sperm bank. Sure, you test a large sample to see if some defect stands out disproportionately and screen those people out. But screening individual sperm is impossible, as the sperm is destroyed in the process and you're left with millions more to test for individual disorders.

I'm sure that if this ever goes to trial, it will be sorted out by expert testimony.

If you read the article, you'd see that the Federal Judge said that this case falls under the jurisdiction of the NY court system and not the Federal court system, basically telling the girl to file suit in NY. A NY judge can still lay the smackdown on this stupid lawsuit (or if he feels there is enough merit to the case, then allow it to proceed).

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: Brainonska511
I don't see how you could test for this kind of stuff in at a sperm bank. Sure, you test a large sample to see if some defect stands out disproportionately and screen those people out. But screening individual sperm is impossible, as the sperm is destroyed in the process and you're left with millions more to test for individual disorders.

I'm sure that if this ever goes to trial, it will be sorted out by expert testimony.

If you read the article, you'd see that the Federal Judge said that this case falls under the jurisdiction of the NY court system and not the Federal court system, basically telling the girl to file suit in NY. A NY judge can still lay the smackdown on this stupid lawsuit (or if he feels there is enough merit to the case, then allow it to proceed).

Edit - After re-reading the whole article, this decision is in fact idiotic, and the law is wrong. It doesn't say in the article if the faulty X even came from the donation, though I would assume the groundwork to establish this was done before the suit was filed.

I don't see any way for the company to get a fair trial here, because the law is so skewed.

Original comment -

They test sperm donors for many things before actualy taking sperm to use. The real question should be whether testing was available and practical at the time the 'father' donated. The judge is right to let the lawsuit proceed; it doesn't mean it will be successful.

 

[Double Trouble]

The case has not been decided yet, but the judge ruled that the case would be tried in NY, where there is no law protecting people/companies from these suits. This is sheer insanity, that suit should have been thrown out of court, regardless of jurisdiction.

 

[Double Trouble]

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie

Originally posted by: Brainonska511
I don't see how you could test for this kind of stuff in at a sperm bank. Sure, you test a large sample to see if some defect stands out disproportionately and screen those people out. But screening individual sperm is impossible, as the sperm is destroyed in the process and you're left with millions more to test for individual disorders.

I'm sure that if this ever goes to trial, it will be sorted out by expert testimony.

If you read the article, you'd see that the Federal Judge said that this case falls under the jurisdiction of the NY court system and not the Federal court system, basically telling the girl to file suit in NY. A NY judge can still lay the smackdown on this stupid lawsuit (or if he feels there is enough merit to the case, then allow it to proceed).

They test sperm donors for many things before actualy taking sperm to use. The real question should be whether testing was available and practical at the time the 'father' donated. The judge is right to let the lawsuit proceed; it doesn't mean it will be successful.

Actually, no. Based on the article it seems the degree of care taken and testing / screening etc does not matter in NY law. All the plaintiff has to show is that the "product" was defective, not negligence.

This kind of stuff irritates me. Even though the defendant will probably prevail in the end, the fact is that they will end up having to spend an incredible amount to defend themselves in such a suit. That's one of the many things wrong with our judicial system. We'd have a lot fewer of these stupid suits if the lawyer filing the suit would immediately have his license to practice yanked for 6 months to a year for wasting everyone's time and resources on this stupidity. :|

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: Double Trouble

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie

Originally posted by: Brainonska511
I don't see how you could test for this kind of stuff in at a sperm bank. Sure, you test a large sample to see if some defect stands out disproportionately and screen those people out. But screening individual sperm is impossible, as the sperm is destroyed in the process and you're left with millions more to test for individual disorders.

I'm sure that if this ever goes to trial, it will be sorted out by expert testimony.

If you read the article, you'd see that the Federal Judge said that this case falls under the jurisdiction of the NY court system and not the Federal court system, basically telling the girl to file suit in NY. A NY judge can still lay the smackdown on this stupid lawsuit (or if he feels there is enough merit to the case, then allow it to proceed).

They test sperm donors for many things before actualy taking sperm to use. The real question should be whether testing was available and practical at the time the 'father' donated. The judge is right to let the lawsuit proceed; it doesn't mean it will be successful.

Actually, no. Based on the article it seems the degree of care taken and testing / screening etc does not matter in NY law. All the plaintiff has to show is that the "product" was defective, not negligence.

I caught that - see edit.

 

[Atreus21]

They oughta track down the father and sue him too. How dare he.

 

[oogabooga]

Originally posted by: Atreus21
They oughta track down the father and sue him too. How dare he.

Sue him for providing defective sperm or for child support... or both?

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: Atreus21
This will be amazing precedent.

Yes it will be am amazing precedent!!
Over 1/2 of the members on this site will be able to sue their sperm bank......

 

[Double Trouble]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda

Originally posted by: Atreus21
This will be amazing precedent.

Yes it will be am amazing precedent!!
Over 1/2 of the members on this site will be able to sue their sperm bank......

So what are you planning to use your massive mental defect settlement check for?

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: Double Trouble

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda

Originally posted by: Atreus21
This will be amazing precedent.

Yes it will be am amazing precedent!!
Over 1/2 of the members on this site will be able to sue their sperm bank......

So what are you planning to use your massive mental defect settlement check for?

awww did I hurt your feelings????