CryoLife hit with 7 lawsuits over death of Minnesota man attributed to tainted tissue.CryoLife has been hit with 7 separate lawsuits over the death late last year of a Minnesota man following knee surgery that was attributed to tainted tissue the patient received during the operation. The family of Brian Lykins, 23, who died on November 11 after receiving a cartilage implant that was provided by a donor infected with a deadly bacterium-Clostridium sordelli-filed suite on July 12. The tissue was provided by CryoLife. Five other lawsuits connected with graft infections-2 in California and 3 in Tennessee-have been filed against the company, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Associated Press. In addition, CryoLife is the subject of a class action lawsuit class action lawsuit A lawsuit in which one party or a limited number of parties sue on behalf of a larger group to which the parties belong. For example, investors may bring a class action lawsuit against a brokerage firm that has actively promoted a tax alleging the company knowingly made false and misleading statements regarding its quality control problems. The suit, brought by the Philadelphia-based law firm of Berger & Montague, alleging securities fraud was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on behalf of all CryoLife shareholders between April 2, 2001 and July 5, 2002. The complaint alleges the following: *"Representatives from CryoLife told investors that the firm had never received a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. ). However, the FDA issued CryoLife a warning letter June 17 alleging, among other things, inadequate validation of various processes and procedures. *CryoLife denied knowledge of fungal infection fungal infection, infection caused by a fungus (see Fungi), some affecting animals, others plants. Fungal Infections of Human and Animals resulting from use of its heart valves Heart valves Valves that regulate blood flow into and out of the heart chambers. Mentioned in: Heart Failure in a June 24 press release, despite being notified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), agency of the U.S. Public Health Service since 1973, with headquarters in Atlanta; it was established in 1946 as the Communicable Disease Center. (CDC See Control Data, century date change and Back Orifice. CDC - Control Data Corporation ) in March that signs of fungal infection had been found in its culture of an explanted heart valve that CryoLife provided. *The firm's denial of the problems caused the market price of CryoLife securities to be artificially inflated. However, shares of the firm's stock plummeted, from about $45 per share in April 2001 to $9.90 July 5, when the firm issued a press release admitting to receipt of a warning letter and 'additional information' from the CDC that showed that the explanted heart valves had signs of fungal infection." CryoLife had not responded to the various lawsuits as Transplant News went to press. |
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