An Illinois woman filed a heart surgery infection lawsuit against LivaNova, alleging that the company’s cardiac heater-cooler device caused a serious infection that led to her husband’s death.

The plaintiff, Susaun K., filed this heart surgery infection lawsuit after her husband Michael K. died of a severe infection known as non-tuberculous mycobacteria. The infection, she alleges, was caused by the use of a contaminated Sorin 3T Heater-Cooler System during Michael’s open heart surgery on June 25, 2015.

In the months following his surgery, the heart surgery infection lawsuit alleges, Michael developed a persistent infection. On August 9, he began treatment that brought him in and out of the hospital and the emergency room through the rest of that year and the next. Unfortunately, Michael ultimately died from the infection on July 18, 2016, just a year past the date of his heart surgery.

After her husband’s untimely death, Susaun decided to file a heart surgery infection lawsuit against LivaNova for allegedly exposing him to the infection that ultimately cost him his life.

The heart surgery infection lawsuit was filed on multiple counts, including negligence, strict products liability, breach of express and implied warranties, negligent misrepresentation, and wrongful death, along with several others.

A growing number of heart surgery patients are reporting serious infections, allegedly due to contaminated heart surgery devices used during surgery. These infections can be serious and, in some cases, even fatal, leading some family members to file wrongful death lawsuits.

The Sorin 3T Heater-Cooler System

Heater-cooler devices are often used during heart surgeries. They are meant to regulate a patient’s blood and organ temperature, warming and cooling the blood as needed. Heater-cooler devices are manufactured by a number of companies, including LivaNova.

The Sorin 3T Heater-Cooler System, manufactured by LivaNova, is one such system. However, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) warns that during the manufacturing process, each of these devices may have been contaminated with a bacterial species of nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM).

The Sorin 3T Heater-Cooler System was recalled by the FDA on July 15, 2015 — less than a month after Michael’s heart surgery with this device. The recall was issued due to the “potential colonization of organisms, including Mycobacteria” in the Sorin 3T Heater-Cooler System.

A CDC warning notes that during the manufacturing process, some devices may have become contaminated, meaning that patients undergoing surgery with a contaminated heart surgery device may be at risk of developing serious infections, including nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM).

Filing a Heart Surgery Infection Lawsuit

If you or someone you love has suffered from an NTM infection after undergoing heart surgery with the use of a heater-cooler device like the Sorin 3T Heater-Cooler System, you may be able to file a surgical infection lawsuit.

While filing a heart surgery infection lawsuit cannot take away the physical and emotional effects of such a serious infection or bring a loved one back to life, it can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses and lost wages.

The Heart Surgery Infection Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-04759, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.