Jury Awards Over $5M In Case Of Fertility Doc Who Used Own Sperm

BURLINGTON, VT — A former Vermont fertility doctor this week was ordered to pay $5.25 million to a Florida woman after he secretly used his own sperm to impregnate her more than 40 years ago, according to a report.

A jury on Wednesday ordered Dr. John Boyd Coates III to pay millions in damages to Cheryl Rousseau and her husband, Peter, after Coates admitted during his civil trial that he used his own sperm to impregnate her rather than sperm from an anonymous donor, the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus reported.

The eight-member jury awarded Rousseau $250,000 in compensatory damages for her injuries and $5 million in punitive damages, the Times Argus reported.

In December, a state medical practice hearing board voted unanimously to find Coates guilty of six counts of unprofessional conduct, according to the Shelburne News. They also voted unanimously on a second motion imposing multiple disciplinary actions.

Coates practiced from 1974 to 1986 in Washington County, including at Central Vermont Medical Center and the office of Associates in Gynecology and Obstetrics in Berlin, according to the Shelburne News.

Coates, who retired 13 years ago, had his medical license revoked by the state of Vermont in February. He is facing a second medical malpractice lawsuit in federal court with identical claims from a second Vermont woman, the Times Argus reported.