Lawsuit- Contends that Howard Midkiff contracted HIV after a blood transfusion at Baptist Health Hospital in Montgomery

FDA warned LifeSouth about labeling of blood

In January, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about improperly labeling contaminated blood to a business that was sued earlier this week for allegedly giving a Montgomery hospital contaminated blood that led to a man contracting HIV.

But Kim Kinsell, general counsel for LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, said that the FDA warning concerned an isolated incident at a Huntsville blood center and that there is little chance that facility had any connection to the blood sample in Montgomery.

A lawsuit filed Monday contends that Howard Midkiff contracted HIV after a blood transfusion during coronary bypass surgery at a Baptist Health Hospital in Montgomery and that LifeSouth was negligent in providing the infected blood without reasonable screening, handling and testing procedures. LifeSouth has 30 days to file an official response to the suit.

The FDA warned LifeSouth in January after inspections in October and November of 2011 showed improper practices at the LifeSouth blood processing center on WestCorp Boulevard in Huntsville. The warning noted failure to properly label tainted blood, inadequate employee training and problems with blood-testing equipment.

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