A Bair Hugger lawsuit was filed by a woman who claims that the warming blanket caused her to suffer from a serious injection following her surgery, leading to more surgeries.

In one of the Bair Hugger lawsuits, filed in a Minnesota federal court in August Alabama plaintiff Barbara L. described a severe infection she suffered after hip replacement surgery.

Barbara claims that the Bair Hugger forced contaminants into her surgical wounds, which created the need for seven additional surgeries and required her doctors to remove the implant.

Barbara was left with permanent injuries and impaired mobility, and now has to use a cane or a walker to move, the Bair Hugger lawsuit claims.

Similar allegations were made in another lawsuit filed in the same federal court, where plaintiff Michael W. also suffered from an infection after undergoing orthopedic implant surgery and the Bair Hugger was used.

Michael developed an infection and needed two additional surgeries in less than nine months, and eventually had to have the device removed, his Bair Hugger lawsuit claimed.

The 3M Company, and their subsidiary Arizant Healthcare Inc. are facing a growing number of personal injury lawsuits in addition to these over the Bair Hugger product, a blanket-like device that keeps patients warm during surgery by circulating warmed air.

These product liability claims involve patients who allegedly suffered severe joint infections after using the defendants’ Bair Hugger warming blankets.

The Bair Hugger lawsuits allege that not only did the company fail to disclose the true risks of its product to patients, but that the company also allegedly lied to the FDA about the product’s effectiveness at filtering out air contaminants.

Overview of Bair Hugger Complications

Hospitals often use Bair Hugger devices to keep patients warm during surgery, as warm body temperatures have been shown to reduce bleeding and improve recovery time.

The Bair Hugger is most commonly used for orthopedic joint replacement surgeries. Unfortunately, these devices have been alleged to cause deep joint infections and create the need for additional surgeries, or even amputation in the worst cases.

Injured patients allege that the devices collect bacteria and contaminants from the air, and blow the contaminants onto the open surgical areas.

According to a 2012 study, “Do forced air patient-warming devices disrupt unidirectional downward airflow?” (Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery) and two 2013 studies — “Forced-air patient warming blankets disrupt unidirectional flow” (Bone & Joint Journal) and “Patient Warming Excess Heat: The Effects on Orthopedic Operating Room Ventilation Performance” (Anesthesia & Analgesia) — found forced-air warming significantly increased the number of airborne particles over the surgical cite. The studies did not conclude the additional particles carried bacteria, but they found the increased particles a cause for concern. 

According to the High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) standards, any medical air filter device must be capable of removing 99.97 percent of all particles 0.3 microns or larger, a standard which the plaintiffs claim the Bair Hugger failed.

This is alarming, as Bair Hugger units are found in more than 50,000 hospitals across America, and have been used on millions of patients.