Woman suing Beverly Hills fertility clinic for destroying embryos

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (KABC) -- A Sherman Oaks woman is suing a Beverly Hills fertility clinic for accidentally destroying her frozen embryos and potentially ending her chance to become a mother.

Marisa Yukich, 38, had her eggs extracted, fertilized and frozen in 2013 by Dr. David Hill at ART Reproductive Center in Beverly Hills. Her contract called for her eggs and a vial of male genetic material to be stored at the clinic as long as she paid an annual fee.

Two years later she received a devastating phone call from Hill: the clinic had inadvertently destroyed her eggs.

Now she is suing the clinic for $7 million.

The ART Reproductive Center said Yukich was offered the option of having the procedure performed again at any facility of her choice for no charge.

The center issued a statement that read in part: "Unfortunately, due to a single human error, the first ever in the history of the Center, one patient's blastocysts were responsibly, yet inadvertently discarded. The patient was also offered at that time - and on a number of occasions since - access to unlimited services to re-create the blastocysts using the identical anonymous donor male genetic material."

But her attorney, Adam Wolf, disputed that claim, saying the center only offered her $600.

Wolf also said that Yukich signed paperwork before the procedure that absolved the clinic of any responsibility, but he said such provisions are not enforceable in court.

He expects the case to go to trial next year.