Fujifilm Irvine Scientific Toxic Oil Contamination Lawsuit

On February 16, 2023, a Los Angeles couple filed a lawsuit against Fujifilm Irvine Scientific after at least nine of their embryos were destroyed by the contaminated oil provided by Fujifilm Scientific Irvine to fertility clinics for embryo culturing.

Fujifilm described the mineral oil in marketing promotions as ‘highly purified’ and safe to use to prevent evaporation of liquid used for culturing and preserving embryos. According to the lawsuit, Fujifilm failed to properly test the mineral oil before distributing it to the public.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Fujifilm Irvine Scientific became aware of the contaminated mineral oil, yet the company did not make a public announcement to alert the public to the issues.

Fujifilm did, however, notify affected IVF clinics, issuing a recall on four production lots of its refined mineral oil:

• Lot #0000011351
• Lot #0000011367
• Lot #0000015999
• Lot #0000016001

Ask your IVF clinic if they used an affected lot.

Damage to or loss of frozen eggs or embryos in the event of a cryo-preservation equipment failure is emotionally and financially devastating to the individuals and couples who have entrusted their hope for children and their own biological material to their fertility clinics.

Women may choose to freeze their eggs to preserve their reproductive options for a later time when they may no longer be fertile. Some women freeze eggs before undergoing medical procedures that render them infertile, such as chemotherapy or a hysterectomy. Still other women donate their eggs to other hopeful women whose eggs are not reproductively viable.

Many couples who cannot conceive naturally, who wish to conceive later, or who plan to run genetic testing on their offspring prior to implantation rely on the services of a fertility clinic to help them through in vitro fertilization. Couples who hope to adopt embryos from others are affected by freezer failures, as well.

Harvesting the eggs puts strain on the body. It requires a series of blood tests and ultrasounds, 9-10 days of hormone injections to stimulate the ovaries to ripen multiple eggs, and an extraction process, which involves inserting a needle into the ovaries.

After harvesting the eggs, they can be stored unfertilized (as an ovum) or fertilized (as an embryo). Once frozen, eggs and embryos are stored in a medical-grade freezer.

Harvesting and preserving reproductive tissue is also an enormous financial investment. On average, it costs $10,000 to $12,000 for the egg freezing process, and $800 per year for storage.

Pacific Fertility Center Lawsuit

Co-lead counsel representing five patients who tragically lost eggs and embryos when a cryo-preservation tank catastrophically failed. (Amy Zeman)

SSRI Birth Defect State and Federal Litigations

Represented as co-lead counsel infants and their families injured through the taking of antidepressants during pregnancy. (Karen Barth Menzies)

Risperdal and Invega Product Liability Cases

Co-lead and co-liaison counsel representing thousands of male children who took the popular antipsychotic drug Risperdal and suffered irreversible male breast growth. (Amy Zeman)

Taxotere Products Liability Litigation

Co-lead counsel on behalf of breast cancer survivors who suffered permanent, disfiguring hair loss after chemotherapy treatment. (Karen Barth Menzies)

In re Actos Products Liability Litigation

Appointed to the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in this litigation on behalf of thousands of people who suffered from bladder cancer after taking the diabetes drug Actos, which resulted in a $2.37 billion settlement.

In re Yasmin and Yaz Marketing, Sales, Practices and Products Liability Litigation

Appointed to the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in the litigation, on behalf of women who suffered serious side effects, including stroke, pulmonary embolism, blood clots and deep vein thrombosis, after taking Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella birth control pills. The lawsuits settled for approximately $1.6 billion.

In re Pradaxa Products Liability Litigation

A.J. de Bartolomeo was on the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in this litigation on behalf of patients who suffered irreversible internal bleeding after taking Pradaxa blood thinners. Lawsuit resolved for settlements of approximately $650 million.

In Re Medtronic, Inc. Implantable Defibrillators Product Liability Litigation

Filed on behalf of individuals who had the defective Medtronic defibrillator device implanted. Approximately 2,000 individual cases were filed around the country and consolidated in an MDL proceeding in District Court in Minnesota. The cases were settled for $75 million.