Jury orders ex-CVMC doctor to pay $5.25M

The trial was scheduled only to determine how much Coates, who is retired and now lives in Shelburne, should pay in damages to Rousseau and her husband, Peter, who now live in Florida.

Before trial the defense had dropped its initial claim that Coates was not the biological father.

The eight-member jury awarded Rousseau $250,000 in compensatory damages for her injuries and $5 million in punitive damages — the exact amounts Burlington lawyer Celeste Laramie of Gravel and Shea, on behalf of the woman and husband, had requested.

Laramie said the jury was asked to send a message that the woman was heard and it should never happen again. It was also important for other doctors to hear “you don’t lie to your patients,” she said.

The request for $5 million in punitive damages also was to send a message to the medical field that similar misconduct will not be tolerated, said Laramie, who was assisted by attorney Jerome O’Neill.

The jurors, in answering a nine-page questionnaire, said Coates failed to disclose the use of his own genetic material to perform the artificial insemination procedure.

They also noted other doctors would have made the disclosure and Rousseau never would have agreed to it if told.

The jury deliberated almost two hours late Tuesday afternoon and about 90 minutes on Wednesday morning before returning the verdict.

Coates faces another medical malpractice lawsuit in federal court with identical claims from a second central Vermont woman. She also had a daughter from sperm the doctor secretly substituted, court records allege.

The two mothers, who gave birth to their respective babies in December 1977 and February 1979, had agreements with Coates that mandated the donor/fathers would be unknown and be young medical school doctors that looked like the respective husbands of each woman, records and testimony showed.

After Coates was sued for malpractice, the Vermont Medical Practice Board began an investigation into possible misconduct claims. The board eventually filed six counts of unprofessional conduct last year.

A state panel found Coates guilty on all counts following a hearing in December. The full board voted unanimously in February to revoke his license. The state panel also agreed to assess Coates $4,000 in administrative fees for his misconduct case and issued him a public reprimand.

Coates, who was 80 at that time, did not contest the administrative charges and had agreed to mail his license back to the state. Prosecutors still proceeded because the state wanted the revocation on his record so he would be unable to reapply for a medical license.

Laramie presented five witnesses, including Coates, and the two mothers. Peter Rousseau, who is a co-plaintiff in the civil case, also testified. A doctor from Connecticut served as an expert witness about the proper standards for dealing with patients.

Senior Federal Judge William K. Sessions III agreed to give defense lawyer Peter Joslin 30 days to file any possible post-trial motions.

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.

Coates also was associated with University of Vermont Medical Center and Mountain View Physicians Office in Colchester from 1986-2009, records show.

The nine-count lawsuit initially was filed against Coates and Central Vermont Medical Center in December 2018. The hospital, which was sued on grounds of failure to properly supervise, later was dropped from the lawsuit, court records show.

The claims in the lawsuit included medical negligence, fraud, battery, emotional distress, breach of contract, failure to obtain informed consent and violation of consumer protection laws.