An Oregon woman recently filed a lawsuit against 3M Company, alleging a defective Bair Hugger blanket used during her surgery has caused her to develop a serious infection.

The plaintiff, Julia W., claims that a Bair Hugger blanket introduced contaminants into her open surgical wound, leading to a deep joint infection and necessitating several surgeries to treat.

According to her complaint, Julia underwent a total hip replacement on Dec. 1, 2009 on her right side. During surgery, a Bair Hugger blanket was used to regulate her temperature.

However, after her surgery was over, Julia says she eveloped a periprosthetic join infection (PJI) which is also known as a deep joint infection (DJI). The bacterium was identified as Staphylococcus. Because of this infection, Julia says she was forced to undergo a variety of procedures, including revision surgery, to help treat the infection.

In response, Julia filed a lawsuit against 3M Company, the manufacturer of the Bair Hugger blanket used during her surgery. According to her lawsuit, the Bair Hugger blanket introduced contaminants into her open surgical wound, leading to her infection.

The Bair Hugger blanket lawsuit was filed on multiple counts, including negligence, failure to warn, defective design, breach of express and implied warranties, fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment, and several others. Julia filed her lawsuit on March 27, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

The Bair Hugger Blanket System

The Bair Hugger lawsuit and others like it allege that 3M Company was actually aware for years that the Bair Hugger blanket system was linked with serious risks, but chose to conceal these risks from the public and the medical community. The company has been aware of these major Bair Hugger side effects since at least 2009, lawsuits claim. However, the company continued to aggressively market the product as safe and effective for use during surgeries.

Lawsuits allege that the Bair Hugger blanket’s filtrations system fails to meet the High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) standards, though 3M Company claims otherwise.

Plaintiffs allege that the Bair Hugger blanket warming system actually exposes patients to contaminants in the room by blowing hot air on exposed surgical sites. They allege that air currents sweep up and deposit bacteria from the floor, blowing them into the surgical site and allowing for severe infections, such as deep joint infections, which can cause permanent damage, necessitate further operations, and cause serious physical and financial harm. More than 50,000 Bair Hugger units are in use across the country.

Filing a Bair Hugger Side Effects Lawsuit

More and more patients are coming forward with claims that the Bair Hugger blanket system caused serious and sometimes permanent infection and injury during surgeries. If you or someone you love has suffered from infection or injury after undergoing a surgery in which a Bair Hugger blanket was used, you may have cause to file a Bair Hugger side effects lawsuit.

The Bair Hugger Blanket Lawsuit is Case No. 0:18-cv-00860-JNE-FLN< in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.