In a case management order issued on December 3, Judge John E. Jones III overseeing all the 3T Heater-Cooler System heart infection lawsuits appointed a settlement master Randi Ellis to negotiate the settlement plans to avoid the need for jury trials for dozens of cases. The order requires both the parties to meet and discuss every month in presence of Ellis to frame a settlement agreement, and Ellis is supposed to report back progress to the Court. Ellis is a part of the Academy of Court Appointed Special Masters. The order also stated the plaintiffs and defendants are required to split Ellis' fees evenly.
Stockert Heater-Cooler System (3T) is manufactured by LivaNova PLC (formerly Sorin Group Deutschland GmbH) and provides temperature-controlled water to heat exchanger devices (cardiopulmonary bypass heat exchangers, cardioplegia heat exchangers, and thermal regulating blankets) to warm or cool a patient during cardiopulmonary bypass procedures lasting six (6) hours or less. It is a Class II medical device that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) via a 510K process in 2006. It is also called Sorin 3T.
There are currently 85 product liability cases filed against the makers of Sorin 3T Heater-Cooler all with a similar allegation that the warming system was contaminated, released a mist into the operating room's air during the heart surgery, which resulted in nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) infections in several patients. Plaintiffs alleged the infection prevailed even years after the procedure was over. The NTM claims are centralized as a part of federal multidistrict litigation in the Middle District of Pennsylvania to reduce conflicting pretrial rulings, duplicative discovery, and to serve the convenience of parties and court systems.
