UCI Braces for Suits Over Alleged Egg Misuse : Litigation: ‘Credible evidence’ of 30 more cases could prompt a slew of malpractice and fraud claims against the self-insured university, legal experts say.

The startling admission that UC Irvine had recently discovered 30 more instances in which human eggs or embryos were allegedly misappropriated by three fertility specialists will probably cause a flood of malpractice and fraud claims against the self-insured university, according to lawyers and legal experts.

“Without a doubt, there will be a great deal of litigation over this until every stone is turned over and every question answered,” said Chris Day, a Santa Ana malpractice lawyer. “I suspect that any woman who had any treatment or who has read any of the publicity has already inquired.”

So far, six former patients of the university’s famed fertility clinic have sued or notified UCI that they intend to file lawsuits, and the university is bracing for an onslaught.

“There’s a strong possibility that more claims will be filed as a result of this recent information provided by the university,” said UCI attorney Paul Najar.

The university announced Wednesday that in the last three weeks it had uncovered “credible evidence” that about 30 more patients may have been involved in the transfer of eggs or embryos allegedly without the proper consent of the women involved. Officials said they have been investigating allegations of egg misuse against Drs. Ricardo H. Asch, Jose P. Balmaceda and Sergio C. Stone since September.

All three physicians deny knowingly engaging in misconduct.

While it is impossible to predict the eventual legal costs, Gary Morrison, deputy general counsel for the University of California, and Najar said that the university recently conducted an analysis of potential liability from fertility cases.

All settlements would have to be approved by the Board of Regents, Morrison said. But since the UC system is self-insured, the money would come from its hospital and professional liability fund, a $94.1-million pool that is part of the university system’s budget and is adjusted annually to reflect claims against UC hospitals and doctors. The university system carries excess liability insurance to pay any single judgment or settlement of more than $5 million.

“I doubt that this will deplete the risk management pool,” UCI Chancellor Laurel L. Wilkening told a gathering of about 60 medical center physicians Thursday afternoon. “And if so, I doubt that it will be taken out of our budget.”

“The university does provide medical malpractice coverage,” she said. “We have legal expertise that I think is very good at handling these cases.”

But the depth of the university’s pocket has not been lost on potential claimants. “We’ve had 80 phone calls in the past three weeks and 17 calls that we regarded as really serious involvement,” said Irvine attorney Theodore Wentworth, who said he now represents six clients in the matter.

Wentworth represents John and Debbie Challender of Corona, who claim that their embryos were given away without consent. “If somebody gets this going into a class action, UCI is going to get hit hard,” Wentworth said.

Winning a lawsuit against UCI or the doctors, though, will not be easy, said a lawyer familiar with several fertility cases.

“The truth of the matter is when you look at these records, it’s very difficult to understand whether or not the eggs have been stolen and given to someone who has then given birth,” said the lawyer, who asked to not be identified. “There is no way to know from your own hospital records.”

“In order to know whether that’s occurred, you need to get internal documents from the hospital and the labs so that you can follow where the various eggs and embryos went,” the lawyer said. The three physicians have so far refused to turn over those records, citing patient confidentiality.

Still, the legal costs in the cases will likely be enormous, said Ronald G. Brower, the criminal defense lawyer representing Asch. “These things are unprecedented,” he said, adding that no one can predict how much a jury would award for “negligent infliction of emotional distress” in a case where a woman alleges, “ ‘You stole my eggs.’ ”

Defending the physicians in malpractice and fraud lawsuits will exceed $1 million, Brower estimated. He said the university is insisting that Asch pay his own legal fees in any cases that result from his private practice. But, Brower said, “that seems a very difficult position to defend when the entire staff of the clinic was provided by UCI.”

Wilkening hinted Thursday that UCI may not have to pay the doctors’ legal fees. “I remind you that there are limits, and if someone is acting either contrary to the law or regulations or outside of the scope of their activities, we will not necessarily assume responsibility for those activities,” she said.

Najar said the university has not decided whether it will pay to defend the doctors in lawsuits by fertility patients. But he said the university would not pay to defend them in the lawsuit that the university has filed against them.

Even though the university is suing the doctors for their alleged misconduct, they are likely to remain on the UCI payroll, on indefinite administrative leave, for some time. Both Asch and Stone are tenured medical professors, and the process to remove a faculty member is lengthy and cumbersome.

“It’s close to impossible to remove a tenured faculty member,” said UCI spokeswoman Fran Tardiff.

Balmaceda, whose tenure application is pending, works under a yearly contract. Patrick Moore, his lawyer, said the doctor was notified recently that his contract would not be renewed after June 30, 1996.

Both Moore and Karen L. Taillon, who represents Stone, say that the university has not treated their clients fairly. Neither has been formally charged with misconduct, nor given a chance to defend himself.

“There’s a lot of finger-pointing going on but not a lot of addressing a resolution,” Taillon said. “It’s your tax dollars at work.”

Times staff writer Sarah Klein contributed to this report.