Settlement approved in lawsuit against Ottawa fertility doc alleged to have used wrong sperm
Posted Nov 2, 2021 02:28:00 PM.
An Ontario court has approved a settlement that will see more than $13-million divided between families who allege an Ottawa fertility doctor used his own sperm and that of the wrong donors in performing artificial inseminations.
Superior Court Justice Calum MacLeod signed off on the settlement in the class-action lawsuit against Dr. Norman Barwin in a virtual hearing on Monday, November 1.
The settlement was proposed in July as the case was certified as a class action, and court heard 18 more people have joined since then, for a total of 244.
The class members include Barwin's former patients who allege they were artificially inseminated with sperm belonging to the wrong donor, in some cases the doctor's own sperm.
They also include the spouses of patients, the children conceived, as well as sperm donors who allege they entrusted Barwin to store their semen or use it for a specific purpose, only to find it was used without their consent to conceive a child.
Court heard the amount paid out to each class member will depend on which category they fall under, as well as a number of other factors, such as whether more people join the legal action.
Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press
