Surgeons Trim Claims of Unsterile Tool Use in Kansas Facilities

Surgeons fighting a class action alleging patients suffered “dirty” infections due to contamination in operating rooms at Kansas medical facilities got a federal court to trim most of the claims, but the case can continue.

Of nine counts in the complaint, the class members alleged only three viable ones—medical malpractice; negligence, against the facility defendants only; and a Kansas Consumer Protection Act claim against hospitals operated by St. Luke’s Health System, the US District Court for the District of Kansas said Wednesday.

Claims involving the use of unsterilized equipment or conditions in patient care are unusual, but not unheard of, ...