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In June 2003, sperm samples from six cancer sufferers kept in a long-term freezer tank at a hospital in Bristol defrosted and had to be destroyed. Although the North Bristol NHS Trust admitted breach of duty, in May 2008 a county court judge denied the donors the chance to claim substantial personal injury compensation payouts.
The donors, one who has since died, gave their samples into the care of the hospital after being diagnosed with cancer. They feared that treatment for the disease would leave them sterile and unable to father children. However, the freezer unit was not checked adequately and subsequently failed.
At the county court hearing the judge likened the sperm samples to hair cut off by a barber or toenail clippings, and he ruled that as such, the "out of the body" samples no longer belonged to the donors; therefore the destruction of the sperm could not be compared to physical injuries caused by medical negligence under the normal realms of personal injury compensation litigation.
However, lawyers for the five cancer sufferers and one widow, sought to overturn the ruling in a case heard by two of Britain's most senior judges.
Lawyers acting for the NHS trust argued that the sperm samples could not be construed as property in the legal sense and that the men did not suffer personal injury as a result of their destruction.
The personal injury solicitor acting for the donors told the court, "This is a grey area, but looked at correctly, we say this a classic case of personal injury."
He pointed out that the comparison with cut hair and toenail clippings was "not entirely apt" as the sperm had been "living and biologically active, albeit in a suspended state."
He argued that it was therefore in the same state as if it had still been in the men's bodies "awaiting further use" and although the samples were in the possession of the hospital, the sperm could not be used without express permission of the donors.
He agreed that once toenails are cut they cease to be the property of the original owner, but that cutting someone's hair without their permission could lead to a charge of assault, perhaps leading to a charge of actual bodily harm. So, the sperm samples, as "living tissue", could not be treated in the same way as the analogy of toenails clippings had been used in the county court judgement.
Personal injury claims and the compensation experts
If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault you are very likely to be eligible for no win no fee compensation.
Whilst the complexities of medical negligence claims prevent us from stating that you will not be charged any fees in these particular cases, we assure you that we will advise you of any charges before you commit to them and in a won case we will always reimburse you.
If you wish to discuss personal injury compensation, please call our free and confidential UK helpline now on 0800 10 757 95 or you can request a more convenient time when we can call you back. Alternatively, fill in the online claim form and we will look into your compensation claim before we call you to discuss it further. Above all, at YouClaim we are here to help.
