Couples sue California fertility clinic for allegedly implanting dead embryos

A California fertility clinic is facing allegations from couples who claim they were given nonviable embryos for their in-vitro fertilization procedures.

Nine couples filed a joint lawsuit on Tuesday alleging Ovation Fertility in Newport Beach introduced lethal levels of “poison” into the embryos and implanted them despite knowing there was no chance of a successful pregnancy.

“Ovation Fertility and its providers then implanted these dead embryos into their patient,” stated the lawsuit, obtained by People Magazine. “Then commencing with an attempted cover-up that intensified the suffering of the nine California couples.”

The filing follows a similar lawsuit from last week, when two other couples announced similar accusations of negligence claiming lab workers accidentally used hydrogen peroxide on the embryos.

The nine couples who filed the new complaint said they all received IVF implantations in January and initially blamed themselves for the missed pregnancies — before Ovation Fertility began revealing that something had gone wrong at its facilities.

They’re now asking for a jury trial and seeking unspecified damages on multiple grounds, including medical battery, concealment and negligent hiring.

The complaint also alleges that the clinic attempted to cover up its negligence, gave physicians false reasons for the failed pregnancies and even tried to “trick” patients into signing waivers and non-disparagement agreements.

Ovation Fertility has denied the accusations, telling ABC News that this was “an isolated incident” that resulted from an “unintended laboratory technician error that impacted a very small number of patients.”

“As soon as we recognized that pregnancy numbers were lower than our usually high success rates, we immediately initiated an investigation. We did not knowingly transfer nonviable embryos for implantation,” Ovation Fertility stated.

“We have been in close contact with these few impacted patients since the issue was discovered. We are grateful for the opportunity to help patients build a family and will continue to implement and enforce rigorous protocols to safeguard that process.”