A federal lawsuit filed in December 2023 in the United States District Court District of Massachusetts alleges, in part:
Ms. Depoian and her husband saw Dr. Berger in 1980 for assistance conceiving a child. Because Ms. Depoian’s husband’s sperm could not be used, Dr. Berger promised to perform an insemination using the sperm of a medical resident who resembled her husband, who did not know her, and whom she did not know. With that understanding, Ms. Depoian consented to the insemination.
Ms. Depoian recently found out that Dr. Berger did not use the sperm of a medical resident, as he had promised. Instead, he inserted his own sperm into her body. In doing so, Dr. Berger violated Ms. Depoian.
Ms. Depoian, like all patients, had a right to know what was being inserted into her body. She also had a right to refuse the insertion of sperm into her body to which she did not consent.
Dr. Berger’s misconduct was not a mistake: Rather, in order to engage in the actions discussed in this lawsuit, Dr. Berger needed to masturbate in his medical office, walk over to his patient while carrying his own sperm, and then deliberately insert that sperm into his patient’s body—all while knowing that she did not consent to his sperm entering her body.
To make matters even worse, Dr. Berger then covered up his deeply disturbing conduct. He had multiple opportunities to be honest with Ms. Depoian after the insemination. He could have told her immediately after the insemination, just as he could have admitted his abuse of power days or weeks later. But in order to cover up his misconduct and prevent her from suing him promptly, he concealed his fraud from Ms. Depoian.
Dr. Berger’s life would have been entirely different had he admitted his assault on Ms. Depoian at the time. Dr. Berger went on to become one of the country’s most prominent fertility doctors. He founded one of the nation’s largest fertility clinics, Boston IVF, and was an Associate Clinical Professor at Harvard Medical School. He should have known better—and, in fact, did know better—than to abuse his patient, Sarah Depoian, as described in this Complaint.
Now 42 years old, Ms. Depoian’s daughter recently purchased (in late 2022) DNA kits from Ancestry.com and 23&me. She was excited to learn more about her family history. The resulting family-history reports, delivered to Ms. Depoian’s daughter in early 2023, did not yield a direct result for the biological father of Ms. Depoian’s daughter. But her daughter
was intrigued by the fact that it listed numerous people to whom she is related on her father’s side of the family.
Among those to whom she is related are Beckett Childs and Mindi Kleinman. Ms. Depoian’s daughter subsequently found out that Beckett Childs is Dr. Berger’s granddaughter (the daughter of Dr. Berger’s daughter, Alix) and Mindi Kleinman is Dr. Berger’s second cousin. After speaking with one of her newfound relatives, Carolyn pieced together that Berger is her biological father. In other words, against his clients’ wishes, Dr. Berger used his position of trust and
authority to insert his own sperm into Ms. Depoian.
Ms. Depoian felt incredibly violated upon finding out that her doctor inserted his own sperm into her body. She feels like she is the victim of assault. And she is concerned that, if Dr. Berger violated her in this manner, he may have done so to other unsuspecting female patients.
Shortly after learning of Dr. Berger’s conduct, Ms. Depoian contacted Dr. Berger through counsel. In response, Dr. Berger did not deny that he inserted his own sperm into Ms. Depoian’s body, contrary to her wishes and his promises. He also did not deny that he covered up his misconduct by not telling her about his actions after he performed the IUI.
Learning of Dr. Berger’s misrepresentations was and is greatly traumatic for Ms. Depoian. She has suffered—and continues to suffer—significant mental anguish, anxiety, stress from physical violations, and sleep disturbances including nightmares, among other injuries. She also has a newfound mistrust of the medical profession.
Ms. Depoian seeks damages for an amount she could have recovered had she not lost the opportunity to file a timely action.
If you or a family member suffered harm as a result of fertility treatments in Massachusetts or elsewhere in the United States, you should promptly find a Massachusetts medical malpractice attorney or a medical malpractice attorney in your U.S. state who may investigate your fertility malpractice claim for you and represent you or your family member in a fertility medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
Visit our website or call us toll-free in the United States at 800-295-3959 to find fertility medical malpractice attorneys in your state who may assist you.
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