A jury has awarded almost $8 million in damages to a grieving family after a US Navy veteran died from an infection following an open-heart surgery at a Kansas hospital.
The family of Stephen Nolte filed a lawsuit against the University of Kansas Hospital Authority and a medical device company called LivaNova in 2021 after he contracted M chimaera.
M chimaera is typically contracted after heart surgeries from contaminated heater-cooler units, according to the National Library of Medicine. The devices are used during bypass procedures to regulate a patient's temperature.
KU Med and LivaNova were represented separately during the trial. LivaNova argued that if KU Med staff had followed proper cleaning instructions, patients would not have contracted the infections.
KU Med settled with the Noltes before the trial. A jury attributed 88 percent of the fault to KU Med and 12 percent to LivaNova. LivaNova paid the Nolte family $918,000. Neither defendant admitted liability.
Lynn Johnson, a lawyer for Nolte's family, argued that KU Med's chief perfusionist, a healthcare professional who operates cardiovascular equipment, stopped disinfecting the heater-cooler devices, The Kansas City Star reported.
Johnson said the perfusionist, Jamie Newberry, neglected to follow LivaNova's instructions for cleaning the units.
Instead of bleaching the devices every two weeks and putting hydrogen peroxide in the water tanks, he directed staff to drain the tanks daily.
A lawsuit against the University of Kansas Hospital Authority, pictured above, has been settled after a grieving family alleged contaminated equipment was used during an open heart surgery
Attorney Lynn Johnson, pictured above, argued that Stephen Nolte, was doing well after the surgery, but started declining because he contracted a M chimaera infection
The hospital then saw an uptick in infections after staff stopped bleaching the units in October 2018. Nolte's surgery was in March of 2019.
Johnson said the policy change resulted in 29 infections. He argued that all of the patients had the device in the operating room during surgery.
The plaintiffs accused KU Med of failing to properly disinfect the units and argued that LivaNova had a responsibility to ensure the hospital followed proper instructions.
Nolte's family argued that the failure ultimately caused his death. Johnson argued that the US Navy vet 'went through hell.'
'He was doing well until the disseminated M chimaera started eating away at his organs,' he said.
Johnson added that by the time blood tests confirmed that Nolte contracted the bacteria, he had already been placed in hospice care.
Nolte's wife, Christine, testified during the trial that doctors were struggling to figure out what went wrong after her husband's procedure, the Kansas City Star reported earlier this week.
They received a letter from the hospital in April of 2020 informing them of the M chimaera outbreak. Nolte died on July 8 of that year at the age of 71.
The family's lawyer argued that KU Med's chief perfusionist, Jamie Newberry, pictured above, told staff not to bleach critical medical devices, which was not what the manufacturer instructed
LivaNova was also accused of failing to ensure the hospital followed proper instructions, leading to the bacterial outbreak. The company's headquarters are pictured above
She said she pushed the issue with different doctors, but was told his health problems could be from his thyroid, kidneys, or liver.
Nolte's son, Christopher, testified: 'Every day it was a new diagnosis. It was very frustrating.'
By the time tests confirmed the infection, it had spread to his brain and Nolte's family was told that antibiotics could not help.
Christopher said that his father 'felt amazing' after the surgery and it seemed like 'he had a new lease on life.'
'Watching him just wither away … it was very difficult,' he testified.
KU Med and LivaNova's lawyers argued that Nolte's sole cause of death was not from M chimaera and the contamination risk was rare.
LivaNova's attorney, David Gross, argued that Nolte had 'extensive' medical problems, arguing that the veteran died 'with M chiamaera' and not from it.
Edward Dominguez, the medical director of Organ Transplant Infectious Diseases at Methodist Health System, testified that after examining Nolte's medical records, he did not believe that M chimaera contributed to his death.
There are currently 27 cases filed in the Wyandotte County Court against KU Med and LivaNova from 2020 to 2025, with most filed in 2021, according to court records.
The Daily Mail has reached out to lawyers for the family, KU Med, and LivaNova for comment.