Comments on: $2.50 for a dozen; $3,000,000 for a half dozen

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 01:07:48 +0000

It should be like film, you don’t get to sue for the potential of the image. The process is covered, the potential “My child would have solved AIDS, cancer and all else…” right out the door. But there is much money at stake.

By: William Nuesslein

William Nuesslein — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 01:07:22 +0000

It is my understanding that stored blastocysts lose vitality with time. Might it be that the ladies waited too long to use their embryos. Even with fresh material there is only a 25% chance of a live birth, if I read the CDC chart correctly.

Lossing an actual million dollars is one thing, losing a LOTTO ticket is another.

By: Deoxy

Deoxy — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 15:11:28 +0000

Yes, thsi suit does seem rather odd in light of, oh, I don’t know, Roe v Wade.

Of course, by the standards of some suits listed here on OL, $3mil is hardly large enough to comment on.

By: jb

jb — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 14:48:52 +0000

My grandmother was hit by an overloaded UPS handtruck and sent to the hospital. We sued for $50,000 and settled for $25,000.

Did we miss a bet by not suing for millions?

Seriously, it seems like a common thread in all of this is people suing for x million, regardless of the economic damage.

By: David

David — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 13:10:01 +0000

If no more similar embryos can be created (ie. woman has no more eggs, or they are no longer able to obtain sperm from the same man, etc.) then the amount may be reasonable. Say if my wife was on her death bed, and we really wanted children, so we create some fertilized eggs and store them to be implanted into a surrogate at a later date. If the bank later told me “Oops, we lost those, sorry.” I think asking for such a large amount could be justified. I’d have to hear more particulars I guess.

What I think would be really interesting is to see how some Republican groups would react to this? Outrage at the loss of life? Or outrage at the attempt to get money by the women? Or some combination of thw two?

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 10:52:11 +0000

To make a lawsuit, you have to lose a few eggs.

By: David Nieporent

David Nieporent — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 06:33:48 +0000

To forestall potential comments: not every post on Overlawyered is an argument that the suit was unjustified. Sometimes the point is just about some issue raised by the suit — or, as in this case, about the amount of the plaintiff’s demand in the suit.