David Betras: IVF mistake causes “unimaginable” heartache and pain for parents, clinic and doctor may be liable for millions in damages

In this enthralling episode of Legally Speaking on WFMJ Today, BetrasKopp Managing Shareholder David Betras examines the heartbreaking case of Tiffany Score and Steven Mills the Florida couple who discovered Ms. Score was implanted with the wrong embryo by the Fertility Center of Florida in 2025.

After Ms. Score, who was receiving invitro fertilization treatment at the Center, gave birth the white couple noticed the baby appeared to be South Asian. After they had raised the baby for six months genetic testing proved that the baby, named Shea, was indeed 100% South Asian and was not the couple’s biological child.

Since discovering the clinic’s error in January, Score and Mills filed suit against the Center and Dr. Milton McNichol the doctor who implanted the embryo and located Shea’s biological parents. The Fertility Center closed, then reopened under a new name. In addition, Score and Mills will be the baby’s custodial parents under the terms of an agreement worked out with the biological parents.

“Well, can you imagine the bleeding heart, the tears flowing from the parent’s eyes and almost like a very bad cut in their soul to have a child born after IVF treatment who is not theirs,” Atty. Betras said. “It’s unimaginable.”

He observed that people go to IVF clinics because they are having trouble conceiving which is stressful situation to begin with. Learning that the child Ms. Score bore and gave birth to must have been incredibly painful for them and for the biological parents who learned their embryo had been implanted in another woman.

“Both sets of parents would h ave had strong arguments had a custody battle over Shea ensued,” Atty. Betras said. “So I’m happy that the couples were able to reach an amicable agreement. That’s one positive aspect of this disturbing incident.”

But it’s not the end of what should be a cautionary tale for anyone who is considering IVF treatment. “This situation is rare, but people need to be careful. “Don’t select a clinic based solely on it’s success rate,” David advised. “Ask how embryos are tracked. Are they barcoded? What protocols are in place to prevent mistakes? As this case proves, human errors can occur so choose a clinic that minimizes the possibility something can go wrong.”

According to Atty. Betras both the clinic and the doctor are facing serious legal consequences. “This is not a case where the damages are limited to just medical bills,” he said. “You’re talking about a mistake that materially changed the lives of

not one. but two families. I mean, IVF costs, medical expenses, emotional distress, pain and suffering, future fertility treatment, and claims involving the loss of reproductive opportunity. Based on these facts, punitive damages could total millions and millions of dollars.”