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Judge eases order against UH over fertility center failure lawsuits

The failure the weekend of March 3 and March 4 caused about 2,000 frozen embryos and eggs to be forever lost to families hoping to conceive children.

A judge has vacated a temporary restraining order blocking University Hospitals from contacting fertility patients who may have lost embryos and eggs when the center’s storage tank failed earlier this month.

Journal Entry Entering Agreed Order by WKYC.com on Scribd

The failure the weekend of March 3 and March 4 caused about 2,000 frozen embryos and eggs to be forever lost to families hoping to conceive children. The failure has prompted wide-spread media attention and a flurry of lawsuits.

In the aftermath, attorneys for some patients have complained that UH officials were improperly contacting patients and trying to mitigate their cases. UH denied the accusations.

In a March 14 motion, attorneys for Daniel and Kevin Cross alleged University Hospitals officials contacted the couple and other fertility center patients “seeking to have them (settle) their cases without the assistance of counsel.”

Attorneys claimed the patients who did not return phone calls were harassed. The motion further alleged that attorneys are being denied access to patient medical records, an accusation denied by UH officials.

In response, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Dick Ambrose issued a restraining order blocking UH from contacting its patients. That order has since been removed.

UH on Tuesday issued a statement after Ambrose rescinded the order, denying any wrongdoing in their contacts with patients:

We are dismayed and disappointed that a plaintiff’s attorney has so inaccurately characterized our genuine and heartfelt offers of support to our patients. The temporary restraining order entered last week was based on those inaccurate characterizations and without giving UH the opportunity to correct facts before the court. A new order is now in place and the court has ordered plaintiff’s motion to be removed from court docket. This new order entered by Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Dick Ambrose. That means UH will continue to communicate with our patients. We are offering our patients who had stored eggs or embryos with us, an in vitro package tailored to their individual clinical needs. We also will refund storage fees and will waive future storage fees in the future for seven years. We have not and will not request or require our patients to sign a release to obtain these services. The attorney’s claim that UH has refused to release medical records is also untrue. Our patients are our first priority and we will continue to provide them with clinical support and assistance. To date the five nurses staffing our patient information line have responded to more than 900 patient calls and our physicians have personally talked with or seen approximately 400 patients about their medical needs.

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