Although the number of personal injury lawsuits alleging hip and knee infections caused by 3M Corporation’s Bair Hugger forced air warming blanket continues to increase, the company is opposing centralization of these cases into a multidistrict litigation.

In August, plaintiffs filed a motion to the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML), requesting consolidation of all Bair Hugger lawsuits pending trial in federal courts.

Centralization of these Bair Hugger lawsuits before one judge would likely reduce duplicative discovery, avoid conflicting pretrial rulings and would be more convenient for the parties, witnesses, and courts.

History of Bair Hugger Litigation

There are at least 14 Bair Hugger lawsuits filed against 3M and Arizant Healthcare, the subsidiary in charge of manufacturing the forced air warming blanket.

These cases raise similar claims against 3M, alleging the medical device has a design defect that increases post-surgery infections in the hip and knee that requires hip and revisions and other medical procedures to treat.

According to the plaintiffs of these Bair Hugger lawsuits, the medical device may cause bacteria and other contaminants found on the operating room floor to enter the surgical area.

The Bair hugger works by sucking in air in the surrounding area, heating it, and blowing that forced air onto the patient during surgery; according to studies, a body maintained at warmer temperatures recovers more quickly from surgery and usually has a decrease in infection.

However, because the Bair Hugger sucks in air from the area under the operating table, it can allegedly pick up bacteria and blow it right onto an open surgical wound. Plaintiffs allege that this has led to the development of MRSA, sepsis, and deep joint infection in some patients after surgery, usually requiring additional surgery to fix the resulting Bair Hugger complications.

3M Opposes Formation of Bair Hugger MDL

On Sept. 14, the JPML received a response from 3M stating the company’s opposition to the proposed Bair Hugger MDL, arguing that the plaintiffs’ claims are not based in science and that each individual complaint has too many individual factors to warrant an MDL.

Furthermore, 3M suggests that lawyers have “concocted” these knee replacement infection lawsuits based on claims brought forth by Dr. Scott Augustine, the creator of the Bair Hugger warming system. The defending company sees Dr. Augustine’s claims as suspect because he now sells a competing surgical warming system.

In their motion opposing consolidation and the creation of a Bair Hugger hospital infection MDL, 3M states:

“The Motion of Plaintiff for Transfer of Actions to the District of Minnesota recites a litany of false claims and conjecture, supported by deeply flawed and competitor-sponsored ‘studies,’ and draws conclusions that the studies themselves do not suggest. Sanctioning this litigation through the creation of an MDL could put countless patients in danger of serious surgical complications by needlessly intimidating medical providers into discontinuing the use of proven and important surgical care. There have been no studies establishing that the use of Bair Hugger FAW causes infections.”

The JPML has yet to make a decision on the proposed Bair Hugger MDL. The panel is expected to schedule oral arguments on Dec. 3.