Do you have a first party claim for property damage? For the Sacramento region, 2023 started off with severely damaging wind and rainstorms.  Trees have fallen on homes and cars and over a dozen people are reported to have died from the storms. The Sacramento County Emergency Services Office estimates that the total property damage […]

I hate to disappoint some of you, but the minuscule amount of macaroni meme is not what we mean by “shrinkflation”. It is good though, right? We made it ourselves. Shrinkflation is different from inflation Before jumping into what “shrinkflation” is, we must first understand what “inflation” means and how the two differ. “Inflation” is […]

Many of my surrogacy cases are “altruistic journeys”. This term is used to describe gestational surrogacy arrangements (between intended parents and surrogates) where the surrogate chooses not to be compensated for her services, as a surrogate. This incredibly selfless gift is sometimes the only way some hopeful intended parents can afford to begin their journey. […]

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) traffic accidents are the leading cause of non-natural death. And of all motor vehicle accidents, truck accidents have the highest risk of fatal injury. Because trucks can be up to thirty times heavier than an average passenger car, these accidents are more likely to cause […]

On June 25, 2022 the world celebrated the Day of the Seafarer by recognizing the valuable contribution seafarers make to the global economy. In the United States, California is one of the top 10 boating states because it contributes over $2 billion in GDP and creates over 400,000 jobs each year. And as regional ports […]

During the pandemic and lockdown, cycling boomed. The dramatic increase in ridership had plenty of benefits and led to the development of “slow streets” programs, effectively opening both temporary and permanent new bicycle lanes for cyclists. With recent gas prices soaring to record highs, many people are again choosing bikes as an affordable transportation option. […]

I know what some of you are thinking:  “What the heck is superwhatsitcalledagain?” Superfetation is an extremely rare medical phenomenon, where the mother becomes pregnant while she’s already pregnant.  It has often been cited as the reason for some sets of twins being vastly different sizes at birth.  Essentially, the smaller “twin” was actually younger […]

Last month, reports surfaced that two different embryo storage facilities in two different states, one in Ohio and one in California, suffered catastrophic malfunctions on the same day—March 4, 2018—causing many thousands of embryos to be lost forever. As a result, several lawsuits, some seeking class action status, have been filed against both clinics, University […]

The short answer is yes.  Under cases like Roe v. Wade, the surrogate has the absolute right to refuse to abort (or reduce) a pregnancy, even when the child(ren) she is carrying are not her own, and even when she had previously agreed to do so in an otherwise binding Gestational Surrogacy Agreement (“GSA”).  However, […]

With Hurricane Florence rapidly approaching landfall as a “dangerous Category 2” hurricane, many on the East Coast are bracing for what could be one of the costliest storms in history, ranking alongside Harvey, Sandy, Katrina, and Andrew. Recent projections estimate up to 40 inches of rain in parts of the Carolinas, with feet of flooding in […]

Probably not.  (I try not to leave my audience in unnecessary suspense) The good news—if you can call it that—is the federal government’s temporary closure will likely have little to no long-term impact on the vast majority of surrogacy cases. Most surrogacies are handled almost entirely at the state and local level, and have very […]

Infertility is expensive. The costs associated with fertility treatments can be difficult for many families to face. A single in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle can range from $11,500 to $18,000. Additional cycles can cost $7,000 or more. Given that it takes couples on average 2.7 cycles to become pregnant, a family can face more than […]

In a Triumph of Spirit over Form, British Court Recognizes That Attitudes Toward Commercial Gestational Surrogacy Have Changed Dramatically Since the Surrogacy Arrangements Act 1985 was first enacted. Surrogacy can be a controversial concept for some people, especially when the surrogacy in question is commercial (often referred to interchangeably as “gestational surrogacy”), rather than altruistic […]

It was recently reported that an Ohio infertility clinic suffered a significant data breach, potentially exposing its patients’ private and confidential information for anyone to see, including those on the Dark Web.  Unfortunately, circumstances like this are part of a rapidly rising trend of worldwide cybercrime, and providers in the assisted reproductive technology field should […]

North Dakota Senate Bill 2233 has been introduced in order to require insurance policies to provide coverage for fertility care services. Requirements Under the Proposed Law SB 2233 requires that any insurance company offering policies providing medical, hospital, or prescription drug benefits coverage for pregnancy-related claims must also provide medical, hospital, or prescription drug benefits […]

Updated September 1, 2019 When we first reported on Hurricane Dorian, the storm was barreling toward the Florida coast as a dangerous Category 4 hurricane.  While that is unfortunately still the case, and indeed, parts of Florida ranging from Deerfield Beach in the south to Titusville in central part of the state, have been put […]

Houston-based Family Fertility Center recently received a Warning Letter from the Food and Drug Administration regarding the center’s gamete (egg and sperm) donation screening practices.  Among the violations noted in the Warning Letter is a finding that Family Fertility Center failed to properly screen for Zika Virus, which, despite not being covered in the news […]

On Saturday, October 12, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 600 into law. The bill consists of two sections.  Section 1 simply states which part of the California Code will be amended to reflect the legislative change, Health and Safety Code § 1374.551.  But curiously, Section 2 of the Bill reads, “The addition […]

There’s a new and disturbing term percolating in our modern-day consciousness:  fertility fraud.  In its simplest and most common form, fertility fraud occurs when an IVF physician, also called a reproductive endocrinologist, implants eggs, sperm, or embryos into a woman which are from a source that the woman did not consent to, too often from […]