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$12M awarded in record malpractice suit

This post was written by Andrea Girones:

An Ontario court has awarded more than $12 million to a family whose twin girls were born prematurely and with cerebral palsy after their mother took a fertility drug, which she says she never would have taken had she been told the full extent of the risk. Girones Lawyers represented the twin girls and their family.

This is said to be one the largest malpractice judgements in Ontario history.

A six-person jury found Carrie Bovingdon, a Sault Ste. Marie woman, wasn’t properly told the fertility drug Clomid could increase her chance of twins and lead to premature birth.

“The physician was found negligent for understating the increased risk of twinning associated with taking Clomid to stimulate ovulation,” court papers show.

“There was no negligence in prescribing Clomid; the only fault was a failure to disclose the risks. ”

“It could have been prevented because I never would have gone on it (Clomid) if I knew the risks,” said Bovingdon. The risk of her having twins was 10 per cent but the obstetrician said it was 3 to 5 per cent, said Bovingdon’s lawyer Lorenzo Girones

Bovingdon had two previous pregnancies – one resulted in miscarriage and the other in the premature birth of her now 19-year-old healthy daughter Lindsay.

The jury found the Clomid, prescribed to her by obstetrician Dr. Paul Hergott, caused the twin pregnancy, which caused the premature birth and the children’s disabilities. Hergott did not deliver the babies.

The twins, Karley and Kaylin, who were born at 30 weeks, are now 13 years old but have profound health problems.

Kaylin can talk and go to school but she is paraplegic and uses a wheelchair.

Her sister Karley is blind, quadriplegic, non-verbal, fed by a tube and can only leave the house for medical care. She has suffered life-threatening bowel obstructions and horrible pain.

Bovingdon said most of the money will go to pay for nursing care, but the first thing she’s going to buy is a $7,000 special mattress to help Karley sleep.

  • * past settlements are not representative of future settlements as every case presents unique facts and challenges.
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