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A woman whose doctor used his sperm to impregnate her has been awarded $5.25 million.
A jury in a Vermont federal court returned the verdict on Wednesday, a day after beginning deliberations, awarding Cheryl Rousseau $250,000 in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages from Dr. John Coates of Vermont, who had clandestinely used his own sperm during an artificial insemination procedure in 1977, according toUSA Today.
Cheryl and Peter discovered Coates was the biological father after their daughter began learning more about her father via DNA testing,USA Todayreported.
Peter was later removed from the lawsuit — before it went to the jury — following a judge’s ruling that he didn’t prove he suffered damages, according toUSA Today.
Cheryl’s attorney Celeste Laramie told the news outlet that the jury awarded the amount she asked for after determining Coates' conduct was “wrongful and offensive.”
“The jury through its punitive damages verdict sent a message to any physicians who might think about lying to their patients or using their own semen to inseminate their patients,” she added. “Such behavior will have serious consequences.”
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Laramie did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Peter Joslin, the attorney for Coates, tells PEOPLE, “We were surprised and disappointed with the verdict.”
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Coates is facing a similar lawsuit from a Colorado woman, who alleges the doctor used his own sperm during an artificial insemination procedure in 1978,CBS Newsreports. The case is pending in U.S. District Court in Vermont.
source: people.com
