HARTFORD, Conn. — A Farmington woman and her daughter are suing a former New Haven doctor for allegedly using his own sperm for artificial insemination in the 1980’s, without notification. The lawsuit alleges Dr. Burton Caldwell said the sample was coming from an anonymous Yale medical intern.
Dr. Caldwell is no longer practicing, but the Pierson family, which has filed the suit, fears they may not be the only ones impacted.
“You think that you can go to medical providers and that they’re looking out for you and that everything is transparent, and, it makes you question,” said Janine Pierson, now 36.
Last year, Janine took a 23andMe DNA test out of curiosity to find out about her family’s history. At the time, she was an only child.
“Then I clicked on the siblings tab. And right away, 19 half-siblings popped up,” Pierson said.
Pierson said that was one of the most shocking and life-changing moments of her existence. She said she started to reach out to her half-siblings, and connected the dots to Dr. Caldwell, who was her mom’s fertility doctor in the 80’s.
The lawsuit alleges Janine’s mom, Doreen, was referred to Dr. Caldwell when she couldn’t get pregnant. After years of trying, he recommended artificial insemination. So, she did it and got pregnant with Janine.
The lawsuit said Dr. Caldwell allegedly told Doreen there was a Yale medical intern on site who was willing to be a sperm donor and that he would provide "fresh, never frozen semen." The donor would be considered "anonymous," and she agreed.
When Janine got the DNA test results in July of 2022, she told her mom.
“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,” Pierson said.
Then, Pierson said she confronted Dr. Caldwell at his home in Clinton.
“At the time, he didn’t deny it whatsoever,” Pierson said.
FOX61 called Dr. Caldwell, but he didn’t pick up. However, his attorney said that when the time comes, he will deny any and all allegations against his client in a court of law.
The nine-count suit is seeking $15,000 in compensatory damages for negligent infliction of emotional distress, assault and battery, failure to obtain informed consent, fraudulent concealment, and other complaints related to fraud and emotional distress.
Court documents state that at the time, Dr. Caldwell knew or should have known that he had an extensive family history of Type I and II diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, Parkinson's Disease, heart disease, and arthritis, which was likely to be passed down to his descendants. Dr. Caldwell did not inform Doreen that the sperm being used to inseminate her came from a person with those serious health conditions.
To date, Janine Pierson said she has gotten in touch with at least 24 half-siblings.
“Every time a new sibling pops up and we have to break that news, it’s like you know you’re about to change their lives forever. By sharing what you have to share with them,” Pierson said.
Pierson and her attorneys at Lynch, Traub, Keefe & Errante said this is only the beginning, and they hope to find more people impacted and hold those involved accountable.
“It is also to find out whether or not he was doing this on his own, or there were other people responsible for monitoring him, watching what he was doing to prevent something like this from happening,” said Steven Errante, Managing Partner at LTKE Law.
Errante said Dr. Caldwell was practicing at Metabolism Associates in New Haven at the time of the case. He has been retired for about a decade now.
“I understand this was in the 1980s that this was happening, records are hard to find. And so, we’re looking for people who have information to tell us what institutions were involved and was he really sort of a lone wolf out there just doing this totally on his own? Or, were there people supplying his patients, supplying him with funds? Those are all things that we’re interested in finding out,” Errante said.
Now, Janine is hoping to find as many half-siblings as she can.
“My fear is that there’s so many of us out there that don’t even know yet. There’s so many patients of his that have no idea that this is their story, too. And I’m just, I walk around wondering if people in the grocery store are my half-siblings. I wonder if people that I’ve been friends with for years are actually my half-siblings. And people deserve to know, they have the right to know,” Janine said. “If you were a patient of Dr. Caldwell, it’s really important that you talk to your children and encourage them to get tested. And I know it’s a difficult conversation, but, people do have the right to know where they come from and, this could be their story, too,” Janine said.
Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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