3M Bair Hugger Linked to Life Threatening Infections

This is Michael Brady Lynch, lead trial attorney for The Michael Brady Lynch Firm.
The Michel Brady Lynch Firm is investigating 3M Bair Hugger lawsuits on behalf of individuals who allegedly developed serious infections, including MRSA or sepsis, following hip or knee replacement surgery that involved the use of one of these forced air warmer systems. Several product liability claims involving this device are already pending in U.S. courts, all of which allege that joint implant patients treated with the Bair Hugger were exposed to dangerously contaminated air from operating room floors. If you or a loved one were harmed in this manner, filing a forced air warmer lawsuit against 3M may enable you to obtain financial compensation for all of your injury-related damages, including:
Payment for medical bills, including those stemming from hospitalizations, doctors fees, additional surgeries, prescription medications, physical therapy, etc.
Loss of past and future wages
Permanent disability
Loss of enjoyment of life
Emotional distress
Pain and suffering
Our attorneys are currently offering free, no-obligation legal reviews to individuals who may have suffered a hip or knee replacement infection due to the 3M Bair Hugger. If you call our office today, our legal staff can help you determine if you have a valid claim for compensation, and will take the time to explain the complex process for filing a 3 M Bair Hugger lawsuit.
3M Bair Hugger: What’s The Problem?
The 3M Bair Hugger is a forced air warming blanket that is used to maintain normothermia – normal body temperature – during surgical procedures. According to 3M, the Bair Hugger system is the standard in hospitals around the world, and has been used on more than 165 million patients. More than 80% of U.S. hospitals now utilize the system.
The 3M Bair Hugger system consists of a portable heater/blower connected by a flexible hose to a disposable blanket that blows hot air on a patient’s exposed skin. A significant body of research has shown that keeping a patient warm during hip or knee replacement surgery can lead to less bleeding, faster recovery time, and other benefits. In addition to forced air warmer blankets like the Bair Hugger, other devices used to achieve normothermia include fluid warming systems, intravenous fluid warming, and warming blankets and pads.
The 3M Bair Hugger has been the subject of controversy since 2010, when its inventor, Dr. Scott D. Augustine, asserted in a New York Times interview that the forced air warming system poses an infection risk when used during procedures that involve implantable devices, such as hip and knee replacements.
Several 3M Bair Hugger lawsuits are now making their way through U.S. courts. These cases include a knee replacement infection lawsuit that was filed in Kansas in 2013, and alleges that contaminated air kicked up by the Bair Hugger caused a MRSA infection that led to a patient’s leg amputation. A hip replacement infection lawsuit was filed that same year in Texas on behalf of an elderly man who underwent 15 additional surgeries after he allegedly developed a deep joint infection due to the Bair Hugger.
Both of these forced air warmer lawsuits claim that the Bair Hugger allows air to accumulate under the surgical drape, which then escapes below the level of the surgical table. The complaints further allege that the escaped air creates warm, rising, airflow currents that deposit bacteria from the operating room floor to the surgical site. Treatment to bring the resulting infections under control may include:
Repeated hospitalizations
Multiple surgeries
Insertion of antibiotic spacers in the infected joint
IV antibiotic therapy
Physical therapy
Removal and revision of the implant device
Amputation of the affected limb
Legal Help for Alleged Victims of 3M Bair Hugger Infections:
Patients who were diagnosed with MRSA, sepsis, or a deep joint infection following joint replacement surgery that involved the use of a Bair Hugger may be entitled to seek compensation from 3M. If you would like to learn more about filing a 3M Bair Hugger lawsuit, please contact The Michael Brady Lynch Firm today.
About the Firm: The Michael Brady Lynch Firm is a national trial firm with a focus on pharmaceutical mass tort cases involving SSRI and Anti-Seizure Medication Birth Defects including Lexapro, Zoloft, Effexor, Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, Depakote and Topamax, Xarelto bleeding injuries, Mirena IUD, Actos Bladder Cancer, Invokana ketoacidosis, Testosterone heart attack and stroke injuries and medical device cases including DePuy Hip and Trans-Vaginal Mesh cases. Contact us today if you or someone you know has experienced side effects involving these products.