London executive Navkiran Dhillon-Byrne loses multimillion-pound court claim that IVF ‘bootcamp’ caused stroke

A successful executive has lost a “millions” compensation bid after claiming a private IVF “boot camp” at a leading fertility clinic caused her to suffer a stroke.

Navkiran Dhillon-Byrne, 51, started a cycle of IVF treatment in 2018 at the Assisted Reproductive and Gynecology Center (ARGC) on London’s Wimpole Street, just meters from Harley Street. This was four years after he was informed the NHS would not be able to fund him.

The ARGC clinic, run by pioneering IVF specialist Mohamed Taranissi, talks about “in-depth research, daily monitoring and real-time treatment adjustments” on its website, showing the text “some call it an IVF boot camp – our patients call it a miracle.”

Ms Dhillon-Byrne underwent in vitro fertilization treatment in April 2018 but suffered a stroke on the 28th of the same month, 10 days after her treatment ended, which her lawyers said left her with ongoing vision and psychological problems.

The expectant mother later sued, claiming that “additional” treatment in the form of pioneering IVIG immunotherapy, designed to soften the body’s immune responses during pregnancy, caused her stroke.

In the claim, which lawyers say will be worth “millions”, the marketing boss said he was not properly informed about the low chances of a successful IVF outcome or the risks associated with IVIG treatment and would not have gone ahead with it if he had known.

In the judgment handed down at Central London District Court this week, Judge Luke Ashby said the treatment only showed that it “probably contributed materially” to the stroke.

But he didn’t convince her that it probably was, meaning he rejected Ms Dhillon-Byrne’s claim for compensation.

He also found that he was appropriately advised by his experts about the potential risks of the “controversial” immunotherapy.

“I accept that the plaintiff was subjected to a series of distressing events which must have been truly heartbreaking for her and her husband,” the judge added.

During the eight-day hearing, the judge heard Ms Dhillon-Byrne had appealed to the ARGC after previous attempts to have a baby had failed.

She told the court she had been trying to have a child since 2014 and despite getting pregnant three times, she eventually miscarried.

Ms Dhillon-Byrne, a marketing manager at the City of London headquarters of an international software company, said she chose ARGC on the recommendation of a friend who praised its high success rates.

But he said he was not warned about the “specific” thrombosis risks associated with the IVIG portion of his treatment and blamed her for the stroke.

Ms Dhillon-Byrne, who sued for negligence and breach of duty, claimed the clinic overestimated her chances of a successful outcome from IVF and failed to obtain her “informed consent” before starting treatment.

She claimed that if she had been given a clear picture of the chances of a successful pregnancy or the risks of IVIG, she would not have consented to IVF and additional IVIG treatment.

In his deposition, he said he felt rushed during some of his consultations and claimed he received little information about the role of IVIG therapy when he escalated the matter to one of the clinic’s doctors.

However, Clodagh Bradley KC and Dr. from the clinic. Taranissi denied their claims, telling the judge he was given enough information to consent to treatment.

He said that although IVIG was “controversial” and not licensed for use in fertility treatment, it was reasonable for the clinic to recommend pursuing it.

Sentencing at the end of the hearing, Judge Ashby accepted that Ms Dhillon-Byrne should have been told that the chances of successful IVF were only up to 10 per cent.

But he added that he was given sufficient advice about the risks and benefits of IVIG to enable him to give “informed consent” for the treatment.

“In my opinion, a competent, respected and reasonable group of obstetricians and gynecologists would have offered IVIG treatment in April 2018,” he said.

“The benefits of IVIG treatment were adequately explained to him, and the financial risks were also adequately explained to him.

“There is a risk of thrombosis in in vitro fertilization and pregnancy, and this is what he was told. There is a risk of thrombosis in IVIG in general.”

But he added: “The additional risk of thrombosis as a result of IVIG was, in my view, not significant under circumstances where there have been no reported cases of fertility impairment.”

He also said he was confident he would still continue treatment even if he had been given “gold standard” advice about risks and benefits.

“In terms of medical causation, the plaintiff established that IVIG probably materially contributed to the stroke, not that it probably did,” he continued.

“Therefore, it appears that the case will be dismissed.”

Lawyers had previously told the court that if Ms Dhillon-Byrne’s claim was successful it would likely be worth “millions” because of the impact the stroke had on her high-flying career.