Calif. Human Tissue Shield Statute Applies to Bone Grafting Product, Judge Rules

LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge has dismissed claims for product liability and breach of warranty claim in an action in which a woman alleged she developed tuberculosis after being implanted with a bone grafting product, ruling that the defendants are protected from liability by the state’s blood and tissue shield statute.

Judge Hernan D. Vera of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled that the FiberCel Fiber Viable Bone Matrix falls within the statute’s ambit because it is processed human tissue.

In 2021, Plaintiff Linda Lokkart was infected with tuberculosis from a human tissue …