Doctor used his sperm to secretly inseminate woman in 1986, she says. Now she’s suing
When Doreen Pierson was having trouble getting pregnant more than three decades ago, her OB/GYN suggested she should see a Connecticut doctor — who is now accused of secretly inseminating her with his sperm.
In 1986, Pierson visited Dr. Burton V. Caldwell, who advised her to use “donor sperm as her husband’s sperm had not worked thus far,” a lawsuit filed in Superior Court in New Haven in September says.
Caldwell told Pierson an on-site Yale medical intern was willing to provide a fresh sperm sample, while remaining anonymous, to help her get pregnant, according to a complaint.
After Pierson agreed to the offer that day, Caldwell performed an artificial insemination, and she gave birth to her daughter, Janine Pierson, on July 7, 1987, the complaint says.
Over 30 years later, around July 31, 2022, Janine Pierson took an at-home DNA test and discovered through the results that Caldwell was her biological father, according to the complaint.
Now, her life “has forever been changed” as she was “unaware” Caldwell was her father for 35 years, the complaint says.
Since the discovery, she’s learned she has 22 half-siblings — all fathered by Caldwell, according to the complaint.
Doreen and Janine Pierson are suing Caldwell on several causes of action — including negligent infliction of emotional distress, assault and battery and failure to obtain informed consent — for inseminating Doreen Pierson without her knowledge, the complaint shows.
They are seeking at least $15,000 in damages.
Caldwell, who specialized in endocrinology, is accused of secretly inseminating several more women, according to an Oct. 3 news release from New Haven-based law firm Lynch, Traub, Keefe & Errante, which is representing the Piersons.
Caldwell and his attorney Patrick J. Sweeney, of the Law Offices of Patrick J. Sweeney in Madison, “deny all the allegations,” Sweeney told McClatchy News over the phone on Oct. 6.
Attorney Rosalie D. Louis, of Lynch, Traub, Keefe & Errante law firm, said the firm represents other children born from “Caldwell’s deceitful actions” and more lawsuits will be filed, according to the news release.
“Our clients woke up one day and realized their immediate family grew exponentially overnight,” Louis said.
‘She had no idea … it was heartbreaking’
After Janine Pierson received the DNA test results, she went to confront Caldwell at his home, where “he admitted to using his own sperm to artificially inseminate numerous patients,” the complaint says.
The 23andMe DNA test results instantly showed Janine Pierson that she had at least 19 half-siblings, she told WTIC in an interview. Now she’s aware of at least 24 half-siblings.
Before confronting Caldwell, who is no longer practicing as a doctor, she told her mother the news — that Caldwell was her father, according to the TV station.
“I will never for the rest of my life forget that response that came from her. Because she had no idea, and it was just shock and, it was heartbreaking,” Janine Pierson told WTIC.
According to the lawsuit, Caldwell has a family medical history of Type 1 and 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, heart disease and arthritis.
Caldwell “knew or should have known” that these “serious health conditions “were likely to be passed down to any and all of his descendants, including Janine Pierson,” the complaint says.
After Doreen Pierson learned Caldwell secretly inseminated her, she has experienced injuries, including humiliation, embarrassment, feelings of being physically violated and emotional pain and suffering, the complaint says.
Louis said in the news release Caldwell has left several families “feeling betrayed” by secretly inseminating several women.
Their children “are walking down the street wondering, ‘hey I may be related to you’ and they’re very concerned if they have children of their own are they going to be essentially dating their cousins or marrying their cousins because they just don’t know who they’re related to, and these people keep popping up out of the woodwork,” Louis said.
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