A woman who suffered an infection after her hip replacement surgery is bringing a claim against the manufacturers of the warming blanket used during that surgery.

The plaintiffs are spouses Jacline and Michael L. of Arizona. In August 2013, Jacline underwent replacement surgery for her right hip, during which surgery a Bair Hugger forced-air warming system was used to keep her warm.

She allegedly later developed an infection severe enough to require four additional surgeries to remove the implant and to clear out the damaged tissue in her leg. Jacline says she continues to have harmful residuals like limited mobility, scarring and disfigurement.

Jacline attributes the infection to the use of the Bair Hugger during her surgery. She says the Bair Hugger blew contaminants into the surgical site on her body, causing the subsequent infection.

She argues that defendants 3M Company and Arizant Healthcare Inc., who make and sell the Bair Hugger, kept patients and their physicians in the dark about the risks of infection associated with use of the Bair Hugger.

She also says the defendants failed to conduct adequate post-marketing monitoring of the Bair Hugger’s performance. These actions on the defendants’ part resulted in her infection and subsequent injury, she says.

The Bair Hugger is a device used to keep a surgical patient warm during surgery. Surgical patients’ bodies can’t regulate their own temperature while under anesthesia; keeping them warm artificially helps prevent hypothermia, which is associated with an increased chance of infection and with higher mortality rates.

The Bair Hugger works by blowing warmed air onto the patient’s skin. According to Jacline and Michael’s Bair Hugger lawsuit, problems occur because the Bair Hugger circulates air from the floor of the operating room up to the top of the surgical table.

Jacline and Michael argue that this convection lifts contaminants from on or near the floor up to the surgical site, increasing the chance of infection.

The plaintiffs cite several scientific studies from 2009 through 2013 that they say confirm the danger of infection caused by use of the Bair Hugger. But despite that evidence, the plaintiffs say 3M and Arizant continue to promote the Bair Hugger as reasonably safe. They cite statements from the defendants’ website saying that the regular air currents in an operating room overpower those of the Bair Hugger, or that the air emerging from under the blanket is directed downward and into the operating room’s air return inlet.

Jacline and Michael are seeking awards of compensatory damages, punitive damages, and costs and attorney’s fees.

The Bair Hugger Lawsuit is Case No. 4:15-CV-00451, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.