The former director of CHA Fertility Center, the target of two lawsuits that resulted from a woman carrying two babies who didn’t match her or her partner’s DNA, was sued over a decade ago by a woman who claimed he seduced her and lied while she was a patient at the clinic.
The claims led Dr. Thomas J. Kim to be investigated by two medical boards.
First, the Medical Board of California in 2007, since it is illegal in California for a physician to have a sexual relationship with a patient. It doesn’t appear his license was taken away, because in 2008, records show the New Jersey Medical Board of Medical Examiners investigated Kim and later granted him a licence to practice in the state after reviewing accusations made in California.
Kim now appears to be working as medical director for the RMA of Southern California fertility clinic in Los Angeles.
At the time of the lawsuit, which was settled for an undisclosed amount in 2007, according to Business Insider, Kim was the director of CHA Fertility Center.
The clinic shook the fertility world when a New York IVF mother announced she gave birth to two babies that were not a DNA match. Days later, California parents claimed one of the infants as their biological son who is home with them now. Both are suing.
Had boys, thought they were having girls: An IVF mom gave birth to someone else’s babies. Couple sues clinic, alleges massive mix-up
‘Both parties broke into sobbing’: Babies born in alleged IVF clinic mix up are back with biological parents
Sex and lies
The lawsuit filed in 2006 states Dr. Jo-Anne Biafore was a patient at CHA Fertility Center who sought fertility treatment from Kim in August 2002. Kim tried to seduce her and the two had a sexual encounter in June 2003, according to the lawsuit and a story in the Los Angeles Times.
The sexual relationship continued through July 2005.
During that time, Biafore, a radiologist, was undergoing fertility treatment and she alleged in the lawsuit that Kim lied about the number of eggs he had collected from her, which caused her to continue seeking treatment.
The misrepresented eggs were not specified in the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
A CHA fertility patient sued the then director and the clinic in 2006 claiming she was deceived about how many of her eggs were retrieved from her so she had to keep undergoing treatment. (Photo: IVAN COURONNE, AFP/Getty Images)
Biafore had asked for a $8 million from both Kim and CHA, but the terms of the deal were confidential, the L.A. Times reported.
The New Jersey Medical Examiners Board, however, reported that when granting Kim a license to practice in its state in 2007, he paid $130,000 in malpractice settlement. Kim, the document read, made “no admission of wrong doing” in the case.
The document says he “engaged in a long term romantic relationship with a patient being treated for fertility issues” and that the California board took no action.
The board issued a reprimand against Kim for professional misconduct, adding the line was “in part blurred” because the patient also was a doctor.
Kim did not return a call seeking comment.
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