MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C., (March 3, 2006) - Motley Rice LLC, one of the nation's largest claimants' litigation firms, today announced that it has filed suit in connection with illegally harvested and unscreened body parts used in transplant surgery. The suit, filed in Richland County, S.C., is on behalf of Sharon McKerley of Blackville, S.C., who allegedly received illegally harvested and untested bones as part of a routine back surgery at Palmetto Health Baptist in Columbia, S.C. Defendants in the case include allograft (grafts of human tissue) distributor Medtronic, Medtronic subsidiary SpinalGraft Technologies, Regeneration Technologies, Inc. (RTI), Palmetto Health Baptist, and the now defunct Biomedical Tissue Services (BTS) along with two of its founders.
On August 18, 2005, Ms. McKerley underwent what should have been a routine back surgery at Palmetto Health Baptist, at which time she received a Cornerstone allograft and Danek Atlantis plate in her back. Less than six months later, on January 6, 2006, she received a letter from her doctor informing her that the tissue and bone used in her surgery was processed and packaged by RTI. She was also informed that these parts were part of a recent recall by RTI because they were obtained from BTS. Currently under indictment in New York, the founders of BTS allegedly played a role in a gruesome human tissue and bone harvesting scheme that resulted in patients nationwide receiving tissue implants that were illegally acquired and potentially diseased.
"It is a complete outrage that my client has had to endure such physical and emotional distress following what should have been a straightforward, routine procedure," stated Motley Rice attorney Kevin Dean. "Not only does she live in constant fear of contracting a deadly disease, but she cannot remove these parts from her back. She will spend the rest of her life knowing that bones stolen from a corpse are in her body."
While Ms. McKerley has not yet tested positive for diseases, it is alleged that due to long incubation periods for HIV and other potentially deadly diseases, she could test positive for an illness in the future - thus increasing her emotional distress.
Two of the defendants, Michael Mastromarino and Joseph Nicelli of BTS, were recently charged in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, N.Y., for operating a corrupt $4.6 million enterprise to harvest human tissue from funeral homes and sell it for use in transplants and research. Hospitals nationwide have reported receipt of the illegally harvested and potentially dangerous tissue. Motley Rice believes that due to poor industry regulations, the problem may extend far beyond what has been included in the recent BTS case. Anyone who has received a tissue transplant or bone graft and has been inexplicably diagnosed with Hepatitis, HIV, Syphilis or other infectious diseases should take the necessary steps to protect their legal rights. Motley Rice is also representing family members of those whose bodies were unlawfully stolen and harvested.
Implant cases in South Carolina are being represented by Motley Rice and the Cordray Law Firm of Charleston, S.C.
