18 May 2022
Individual fertility is precious and fragile. It can be unexpectedly lost or impaired when problems arise during surgery or fertility treatment, pregnancy and birth as well as following delays in detecting medical issues or misdiagnosis of conditions like cancer. This can give rise to complex legal claims for costs of IVF, donor conception and surrogacy within medical negligence proceedings. Our expert witness fertility law service can provide written reports and expert evidence which identifies and assesses the relevant legal issues in individual cases and quantifies the costs of family building through assisted conception to assist claims for damages. This can help ensure future family building or family completion.
Our specialist fertility lawyer, Louisa Ghevaert, was the instructed expert witness in fertility, donor conception and surrogacy law for the Claimant in the landmark negligence case of XX v Whittington Hospital NHS Trust [2017] EWHC 2318 (QB), being the first legal case in the UK in which the High Court awarded damages of £74,000.00 to a woman for altruistic UK surrogacy and fertility treatment following a delay of four years in detecting cervical cancer in smear tests and biopsies. Louisa was awarded a place on The Lawyer Hot 100 List 2018 for her expert witness legal role in this important legal ruling and other fertility milestone cases, describing her ‘as an influential figure when it comes to ensuring fertility laws are fit for purpose in the 21st century’.
Louisa Ghevaert went on to give expert evidence in the Court of Appeal in XX v Whittington Hospital NHS Trust [2018] EWCA Civ 2832 and the Supreme Court in Whittington NHS Trust v XX [2020] UKSC 14, where the Claimant was ultimately successful in her appeal and claim for damages of approximately £558,000.00 for the costs of fertility treatment, donor eggs and international commercial surrogacy in California in the USA.
Our expert witness fertility law service can help support or defend fertility claims in a range of situations, including:
- Birth injury and/or hysterectomy.
- Incorrect, missed or delayed cancer diagnosis (e.g. resulting in infertility following surgery and chemotherapy).
- Surgical negligence resulting in impaired or lost fertility.
- Fertility treatment negligence.
Click here to find out more about our specialist Expert Witness Fertility Law Service.
Do you need expert witness fertility law services to bring or defend a claim for fertility treatment, donor conception or surrogacy following medical negligence? If you would like to discuss your situation or you would like specialist expert witness fertility law assistance contact Louisa Ghevaert by email louisa@louisaghevaertassociates.co.uk or by telephone +44 (0)20 7965 8399.
