ATLANTA (AP) - The family of a Minnesota man who died after a knee graft filed suit Friday against the company that provided the tissue, claiming it came from an infected cadaver.
Surgeons planted the cartilage into the knee of 23-year-old Brian Lykins on Nov. 7. He died four days later. Health investigators found a deadly bacterium in his body and in the cadaver from which the cartilage was lifted.
The suit says tissue bank CryoLife Inc., of Kennesaw, left the cadaver unrefrigerated for 19 hours and failed to test the tissue for the bacterium, Clostridium sordellii. It seeks unspecified damages.
CryoLife spokesman Roy Vogeltanz said the company would not comment on pending litigation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in March that at least 14 people had contracted infections after receiving tissue transplants from CryoLife. Lykins was the only one who died.
Five other lawsuits connected to graft infections - two in California and three in Tennessee - have been filed against CryoLife.
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On the Net:
CryoLife Inc.: http://www.cryolife.com
Anti-CryoLife lawsuits: http://www.cryolifelitigation.com
Minnesota Department of Health: http://health.state.mn.us
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