NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Yale University has reached a settlement with 95 of its fertility clinic patients who received treatment for infertility with no pain medication or with pain medication that had been watered down due to a nurse diverting the fentanyl they should have been given during their procedures.
The settlement was announced on Monday, although details of the agreement weren’t released, reports Reuters. Lawyers did say, however, that Yale’s payout would be significant. The settlement will cover a total of 154 plaintiffs.
The women allege they underwent painful and invasive fertility procedures at the Yale University Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (Yale REI) clinic in Orange, Conn., believing they would receive fentanyl to reduce their pain during the procedure. However, instead of being given pain medication, they were given saline. When they told staff that they were experiencing extreme pain, their complains were ignored, reports the Associated Press.
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The diversion of the painkiller went on for more than two years, according to a lawyer for the plaintiffs.
Yale only acknowledged the problem after an employee noticed a fentanyl vial had a loose cap.
The lawsuit claimed Yale didn’t safeguard its supplies of fentanyl, which resulted in one nurse being able to swap out saline for the painkiller.
75% of Fentanyl Given to Patients at Yale REI Was Adulterated with Saline
An investigation eventually discovered what happened: A nurse at the clinic, Donna Monticone, 49, had begun stealing the fentanyl for her own use in 2020.
“She accessed secure storage areas and took vials of fentanyl, used a syringe to withdraw the narcotics from the vials, and reinjected saline into vials so that it would appear as if none of the narcotics were missing,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut said in a press release. “The investigation revealed that approximately 75% of the fentanyl given to patients at the Yale REI clinic from June to October 2020 was adulterated with saline. Some of the vials contained diluted fentanyl, while others contained no drug at all and contained just saline.”
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On March 2, 2021, Monticone pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product. She was sentenced to four weekends in prison, three months of home confinement, and three years of supervised release, reports AP. She also surrendered her nursing license.
