A new heater-cooler lawsuit has been filed by a plaintiff who alleges that a surgical device was associated with serious harm. The heater-cooler lawsuit was filed on behalf of the estate of a man who passed away allegedly due to complications associated with a heater-cooler device.

The decedent lived in Alabama until the time of his death in 2016. The heater-cooler lawsuit was filed against LivaNova, a for-profit corporation based out of London and the makers of a popular heater-cooler device that is often used during surgeries.

In November 2016, patients at the Sacred Heart Health System were notified about the risk of potentially fatal bacteria associated with a heater-cooler device that they may have contracted during open-heart cardiac surgery.

These mycobacteria occur naturally in the environment and can lead to significant risks for patients whose chest and organ cavities are exposed during the surgery process.

The 3T heater-cooler system is the one named in the lawsuit as being allegedly responsible for collecting these bacteria throughout the surrounding environment and transporting it into the open body of a patient in the middle of surgery.

The diagnosis of the infection associated with the heater-cooler lawsuit is extremely difficult to identify, given that it requires molecular diagnostic testing or targeted culturing. This can take up to eight weeks.

In 2013, the decedent named in the heater-cooler lawsuit was allegedly admitted for coronary artery bypass grafting through a triple bypass in Mobile, Ala. A Stockert 3T heater-cooler device was allegedly used during this surgery. In December 2014, the decedent was accepted again for a diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia at the hospital and was readmitted in May 2015 for pneumonia.

In June 2016, he was admitted again for persistent pneumonia. According to the heater-cooler lawsuit, the blood cultures collected at that time showed recurrent bacteria that are believed to have been tied to the surgery. The patient allegedly tested positive for strains of bacteria that have been associated with heater-cooler devices.

More patients who realize they have developed an infection after surgery with a heater-cooler are coping with the serious side effects of the infection. Initially, the patient might not even realize the severity of the situation or that the infection could have come from the heater-cooler device.

Some patients who made the connection are now choosing to file heater-cooler lawsuits with the help of lawyers who often take on medical device companies.

The heater-cooler lawsuit says that as a result of the defendant’s negligence and liability associated with allowing the heater-cooler device to collect these bacteria and to immediately transport it into the open body cavity, the decedent was forced to undergo painful medical procedures as well as treatment. Hospital patients do not expect that the devices used during surgery could cause harm.

Ultimately, these treatment options and the associated infections led to his death, the lawsuit claims. A growing number of people who have been negatively affected by heater-cooler devices are choosing to file lawsuits.

The Heater-Cooler Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-CV-00198-WS-M filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.