An Alabama resident claims he suffered severe and permanent personal injuries after a left hip replacement in which a Bair Hugger warming system was used.

Plaintiff James R. underwent left hip replacement surgery in July 2013. Because the Bair Hugger system was used, James was allegedly exposed to contaminants which resulted in a severe MRSA infection.

As a result of the Bair Hugger infection, James claims that he had to have additional surgeries to remove the hip implant and treat the infected area within less than eight months. He now permanently suffers from impaired mobility and walking is a daily challenge for him.

James says his infection was a direct result of the Bair Hugger, a medical device that consists of a portable heater/blower connected by a flexible hose to a disposable blanket that is positioned over a patient during hip or knee replacement surgery.

The system warms patients during surgery by blowing hot air on a patient’s exposed skin. According to the Bair Hugger lawsuit, the device can blow bacteria-tainted air directly onto a patient’s open wound.

“This escaped air creates air flow currents that flow against the downward air flow of the operating room. As this warmed air rises, it deposits bacteria from the floor of the surgical room into the surgical site,” the Bair Hugger lawsuit says.

The Bair Hugger lawsuit further alleges that 3M knowingly concealed the propensity of the Bair Hugger system to cause infection during joint surgery and continue to actively and aggressively markets the device for use in both general and orthopedic surgeries.

The Problem With The Bair Hugger Warming System

The 3M Bair Hugger is a forced air warming blanket that is used to maintain normal body temperature during surgical procedures. According to 3M, more than 50,000 Bair Hugger units are currently in use across the country.

The problem is that the device allegedly allows air to accumulate under the surgical drape, which then escapes below the level of the surgical table. This 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

Bair Hugger Lawsuits

Several 3M Bair Hugger lawsuits are now making their way through U.S. courts. These lawsuits include a knee replacement infection lawsuit 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.

Another lawsuit filed by a Texas man who underwent 15 additional surgeries after he allegedly developed a deep joint infection due to the Bair Hugger after a hip replacement surgery.

Patients who were diagnosed with MRSA, sepsis, or a deep joint infection following knee or hip replacement surgery that involved the use of a Bair Hugger may be entitled to seek compensation from 3M.

The Bair Hugger Lawsuit is Case No. 2:15-cv-01306-HGD, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Southern Division.