A Bair Hugger lawsuit has been filed by a Texas woman who claims that the forced air warmer blanket caused an infection so severe that it required three additional surgeries.

Plaintiff Irma G. of Texas is suing 3M Company and Arizant Healthcare Inc. over allegations that the Bair Hugger manufacturers designed a defective product that caused permanent injuries.

According to the 3M Bair Hugger lawsuit, plaintiff Irma had a total knee replacement surgery in 2014 and a forced air warmer blanket was used as a surgical drape during the procedure. 

Irma claims in her Bair Hugger lawsuit that because a Bair Hugger blanket was used during surgery, contaminants were introduced to her open wound causing an infection.

The Bair Hugger lawsuit alleges that the infection required plaintiff Irma to undergo three more surgeries to remove the implant and clean the infected tissue around her knee. Irma states that since the Bair Hugger surgery procedure, she has suffered from impaired mobility that makes even walking a challenge.

According to the Irma, 3M along with Arizant misrepresented the Bair Hugger blanket as a safe and effective medical device to use during surgery.

The Bair Hugger lawsuit claims that the defendants knew about the defects that could cause severe complications but instead of altering the design of the product or warning the medical community, the manufacturers chose to “double down” their efforts to market the surgical blanket.

Irma claims that due to the 3M Bair Hugger blanket she will continue to suffer both financially and physically from the cost of treating her condition. Irma is seeking more than $75,000 for the pain and suffering she has allegedly endured.

Bair Hugger Complications

A 3M Bair Hugger forced air warming blanket is a portable heater and blower connected by a flexible hose to a disposable blanket that is positioned over surgical patients.

The Bair Hugger system warms patients during surgery by blowing hot air on a patient’s exposed skin. The practice of keeping patients warm during surgery has been proven to reduce bleeding and shorten recovery time.

However, the air produced by Bair Hugger reportedly flows in a current against the floor of the operating room and rises up under the blanket essentially blowing bacteria from the floor directly onto the surgical site.

According to Bair Hugger lawsuits, the blanket has caused the following complications:

• Joint implant removal
• Deep joint infections
• Intravenous antibiotic treatment
• Physical therapy
• Additional surgeries
• Amputations

More than 50,000 3M forced air blankets are currently used during surgical procedures across the country.

Bair Hugger Lawsuits

A growing number of Bair Hugger lawsuits have been filed against 3M and Arizant over allegations that the forced air blanket manufacturers insisted the medical device was safe to use during surgery without properly testing the blanket before releasing it. 

The 3M Bair Hugger Forced Air Warmer Blanket Lawsuit is Case No. 4:15-cv-02973 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.