In connection with a set of personal injury cases involving the 3T heater-cooler device manufactured by LivaNova, Plaintiff Jeri Pickrell filed a putative class action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa seeking medical monitoring and other relief on behalf of Iowa residents allegedly exposed to an infection as a result of the use of the non-sterile device used in operating rooms in connection with life-saving open heart surgeries. Pursuant to a pre-Answer Rule 12(B)(6) Motion to Dismiss, the Court, in January 2018, dismissed the case with prejudice, finding that Iowa did not recognize a claim for medical monitoring and that a claim for declaratory relief was not appropriate under the circumstances. Pickrell v. Sorin Group USA, Inc., No. 4:17-cv-00101 (S.D. Iowa, 2018).
January 2018