PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Forty-four years ago, a married couple welcomed their first child together after fertility treatments through Oregon Health and Science University and Providence Health.
Later, the family would discover that doctors used the wrong semen to impregnate the mother, according to a new lawsuit against the hospitals.
The lawsuit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Dec. 26 by three individuals identified in the lawsuit under pseudonyms: C.W. (the biological mother), K.W. (the presumptive father), and A.P. (the child).
According to the lawsuit, K.W. and C.W. were a married couple who sought medical care at OHSU in March 1980 to help with pregnancy difficulties and family planning.
At the time, K.W. was tested for sperm count, motility and other criteria, and the report on the tests was signed by a doctor, according to the suit.
Later, in September 1980, an individual identified by the pseudonym R.W. was referred to the family planning unit at OHSU with his spouse, and R.W. was also tested for sperm count and a report was signed by the same doctor, according to the lawsuit.
In the spring of 1981, C.W. underwent an insemination procedure from OHSU, with the intention of using her husband K.W.’s semen.
“Unknown to C.W., K.W. and R.W., however, defendants wrongfully used R.W’s semen during the procedure,” the lawsuit claims.
C.W. became pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl, A.P., in December 1981 and the couple raised their daughter “as their biological child, never thinking that OHSU and Providence had wrongfully inseminated” C.W., the lawsuit states.
Genetic testing later confirmed that K.W. is not A.P.’s biological father, the suit claims, noting the plaintiffs did not discover the cause of the unwanted pregnancy and damages connected to the pregnancy until less than two years before filing the lawsuit.
