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Wrongful Insemination Class Action Settlement Overview:
- Who: “Barwin babies” and their parents who were treated by Dr. Norman Barwin who was accused of using his own sperm for insemination procedures.
- What: The disgraced fertility doctor has reportedly agreed to pay $13.3 million to end a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of parents who used his services and the children who were conceived as a result.
- Where: More than 200 Class Members, including 17 children who were conceived using the fertility doctor’s sperm, have been identified in the litigation pending in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Former fertility doctor based in Ottawa and accused of using his own sperm in procedures, Dr. Norman Barwin, has reportedly agreed to pay $13.375 million to end a wrongful insemination class action lawsuit.
The class action lawsuit, filed on behalf of parents and children conceived as a result, including “Barwin babies,” was certified Wednesday, reports the Ottawa Citizen. Class Members include more than 200 people, including at least 100 children who were conceived using insemination with the wrong sperm. Additionally, men who stored sperm at Dr. Barwin’s medical clinic may be able to take part in the wrongful insemination class action settlement.
The wrongful insemination class action settlement will also create a DNA database to help Class Members see, in private, whether they are genetically related to each other or Dr. Barwin, says the Ottawa Citizen.
“There is no amount of money that will be able to compensate for this, but because of the fact that they are receiving some compensation, it is our hope that will help them get some closure and move forward,” one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers told reporters.
The wrongful insemination class action lawsuit was lodged in 2016 after evidence that a renowned fertility doctor had used the wrong or even his own sperm without telling patients seeking invitro fertilization (IVF) and intrauterine inseminations (IUI) continued to mount.
Dr. Barwin reportedly operated fertility clinics offering insemination services starting in the 1970s through 2012. His medical license was finally revoked in 2013.
The use of the wrong or even his own sperm occurred as early as 1973, according to the Ottawa Citizen. In addition to Class Members in Ontario, residents of Quebec may have also been wrongfully inseminated by Dr. Barwin.
The proposed settlement will still need to be approved by the Ontario Superior Court.
Were you a patient of Dr. Barwin’s fertility clinic? Will you take part in this wrongful insemination class action settlement? Tell us your story in the comments below!
The plaintiffs are represented by Peter J.E. Cronyn, Frances Shapiro Munn, and Jessica Fullerton of Nelligan O’Brien Payne LLP.
The Wrongful Insemination Class Action Lawsuit is Dixon, et al. v. Dr. Norman Barwin, Case No. I6-70454CP, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Canada.
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