A man has filed a lawsuit against LifeSouth Community Blood Centers in Alabama after he allegedly received HIV-infected blood during a coronary bypass – causing him to contract the disease.
According to the suit, contaminated blood was collected by LifeSouth in Dale County, Ala., in October 2010 from an unknown individual and sent to Baptist Medical Center in Montgomery where John Midkiff was being treated for coronary bypass grafting. Midkiff allegedly received the HIV-positive blood when he was given a blood transfusion during his surgery.
The suit said that LifeSouth found that the distributed blood was HIV-positive in May 2011 and notified Baptist Medical Center. Midkiff found that he had HIV after receiving a blood test in June.
“It is tragic and unforgivable – particularly in light of today’s medical testing capabilities – that a man could undergo heart surgery and survive the risks associated with such a complex surgery, only to learn months later that he contracted HIV from a tainted blood transfusion he received during surgery,” said Mike Andrews, the lawyer representing Midkiff, in a statement from the law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.
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