LivaNova Heater-Cooler Patient Gets Infection Suit Reinstated

A Louisiana man may pursue claims stemming from an infection allegedly caused by a LivaNova heater-cooler system used to regulate patients’ temperature during surgery, the Third Circuit said Friday.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, overseeing multidistrict proceedings, wrongly dismissed Kyle Hamer’s suit with prejudice solely for failure to comply with a specific diagnostic requirement set out by an MDL case management order, the appeals court said.

Hamer’s allegations may diverge from those of other MDL cases in which a particular infection was verified, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said. “Nevertheless, stating ...