Appeals Court Revives Malpractice Case Over Transplant Death

A malpractice case for a Minnesota woman who died after receiving a transplant of a cancerous pancreas may be headed for a trial. The Minnesota Court of Appeals this week ruled the case against Dr. Ty Dunn should head to court in the death of 36-year-old Jodie Shierts, reversing a Hennepin County judge’s decision dismissing the lawsuit. The court said Dunn violated state laws on standard care by clearing the organ for a transplant. Dunn didn’t know the pancreas was infected with cancer, the court said, but should have more thoroughly screened the donor, who was thought at the time of transplant to have died of bacterial meningitis.