The federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation is considering whether to consolidate several Bair Hugger lawsuits into a single multidistrict litigation.

The move would give a single federal court authority over dozens of legal actions alleging that the Bair Hugger forced air warming system caused infections in patients undergoing hip or knee surgery.

A group of plaintiffs requested the transfer in a motion filed with the Panel in August 2015.

If the plaintiffs’ motion is granted as requested, all Bair Hugger lawsuits now pending in the federal court system will be transferred into a single multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Claims filed after the formation of the MDL would also be transferred there. Pretrial proceedings would be conducted for all these claims simultaneously under the oversight of a single judge, which the plaintiffs have requested to be Judge Donovan Frank.

What is the Bair Hugger Warming System?

The Bair Hugger is a device manufactured by 3M and its subsidiary Arizant Healthcare Inc., who are jointly named as the defendants in the majority of these Bair Hugger lawsuits. The device consists of a warmer and blower unit connected to a disposable blanket by a hose.

The surgical blanket is used to keep patients warm as they undergo general anesthesia for surgery. According to 3M’s website, general anesthesia causes the patient’s body temperature to drop, increasing the risk of hypothermia and with it the risks of infection and patient morbidity. Keeping the patient artificially warm during surgery reduces the risk of hypothermia and its complications.

Plaintiffs in these Bair Hugger lawsuits generally allege that the Bair Hugger caused them to develop a deep joint or other serious infection that they would not have had otherwise.

One plaintiff, Alice C. of Maryland, says she developed a life-threatening staph infection after hip replacement surgery, during which a Bair Hugger surgical blanket was used to keep her warm. Alice claims as a result of the infection, she had to undergo several surgeries from 2012 to 2015 to clean her infected hip.

Another plaintiff, Larry L. of Texas, says he underwent total replacement of his right knee in November 2013, during which he was kept warm using a Bair Hugger. He developed an infection that required three additional surgeries to treat, and he says he continues to suffer loss of mobility that makes ordinary walking a challenge.

These two plaintiffs describe what is essentially a similarly alleged problem with the Bair Hugger – that the Bair Hugger creates warm air that rises against the downward airflow used in operating rooms. According to the plaintiffs in these Bair Hugger lawsuits, that rising air can carry contaminants from on or near the floor up to the surgical site, thereby increasing the possibility of a serious infection.

Some plaintiffs also question the efficiency of the filtration system in the Bair Hugger’s blower unit. According to Bair Hugger lawsuits, it is alleged the defendants reduced that efficiency sometime between 2002 and 2009, allowing pathogens to settle inside the blower unit and proliferate there.

Because of these and other alleged design flaws, many plaintiffs say their infections and subsequent complications are attributable to the use of the Bair Hugger during their surgery.

The motion for creating a Bair Hugger MDL was filed with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation under MDL No. 2666. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for December 3 of this year.