Dozens of women who say they suffered excruciating pain at a Yale University fertility clinic because a nurse stole fentanyl for her own use and replaced it with saline have settled their lawsuits against the Ivy League school, per the AP. Patients and their lawyers announced the settlements Monday in New Haven, Connecticut, where Yale is based. Details were not released, but lawyers said they included significant financial settlements. The women say they underwent painful and invasive procedures for in vitro fertilization and were supposed to receive fentanyl at the Yale University Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility clinic in Orange, Connecticut
Unbeknownst to them, they received saline instead of fentanyl, and when they told staff of their extreme pain during and after the procedures, their concerns were dismissed, according to lawsuits filed by the women and their spouses. They said Yale officials failed to safeguard supplies of the painkiller. "I, and so many others, never should have been put in a position to beg for medication. I unnecessarily suffered through the physical and emotional pain because of my desperation to have a family," one of the plaintiffs, Lauren Rosenberg, said in a statement.
Yale said in a statement that the agreement "allows both parties to move forward and begin healing," adding that it has instituted new safeguards since discovering the nurse's actions, including more training and supervision. Seven women initially sued Yale in 2021. Dozens more patients later came forward and filed lawsuits, bringing the total number of plaintiffs to more than 150, including nearly 100 patients. In May 2021, nurse Donna Monticone, who no longer works for the clinic, was sentenced to four weekends in prison, three months of home confinement and three years of supervised release. She pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product.
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