A Mississippi man has recently filed a civil complaint against 3M Company and Arizant Healthcare Inc., alleging damages relating to the design, development, and sale of the Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming Device.

Gary R., a resident of Lucedale, Mississippi, filed the Bair Hugger lawsuit on October 29. Gary’s lawsuit claims that he suffered from a serious infection and resulting damages due to the hospital device.

According to the Bair Hugger lawsuit, Gary had a total knee replacement surgery in June of 2002. During the surgery a Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming Device was used to keep Gary warm. Gary alleges that the Bair Hugger device allowed contaminants to enter his surgical incision, resulting in a case of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

In order to cure Gary’s MRSA infection, he had to undergo two additional procedures–one to remove the implant, and one to thoroughly clean out the infected area. As alleged in Gary’s lawsuit, he now has impaired mobility that makes simple movements like walking difficult.

Bair Hugger Lawsuit

In his Bair Hugger lawsuit, Gary alleges that 3M Company and its fully-owned subsidiary Arizant Healthcare concealed their knowledge of the device’s unreasonably dangerous risks. He also claims that the defendants failed to conduct adequate and sufficient research after the medical device was already on the market.

According to Gary’s lawsuit, over 50,000 Bair Hugger units are used across the United States. The Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming Device is used by some surgeons to help regulate the body temperature of patients undergoing knee or hip replacement surgeries.

The device consists of a portable heater connected to a disposable blanket, which can be draped over or under a patient. The medical device blows hot air on the patient’s skin, helping patients under anesthesia regulate their body temperature.

Gary’s Bair Hugger lawsuit alleges that the medical device creates circulating air currents that deposit bacteria from the floor of the surgical room into the surgical site. The Bair Hugger complaint also claims that between 2002 and 2009, the manufacturers reduced the efficiency of the device’s air filtration system, impacting the safety of the device.

If you or a loved one have suffered injuries from a Bair Hugger warming device, product liability attorneys are available to discuss your potential claims against the device’s manufacturers.

The Bair Hugger lawsuit referenced above is case number 1:15-cv-00363-HSO-JCG, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Southern Division.