An Indiana man recently filed a new lawsuit against 3M Company, alleging he suffered from a Bair Hugger deep joint infection because of the company’s negligence and failure to warn.

The plaintiff, Frederick H., underwent surgery on Feb. 15, 2016, and the Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming system was used during surgery. According to the lawsuit, the use of the Bair Hugger device during surgery introduced contaminants into the open surgical wound, which led to a Bair Hugger deep joint infection.

As a result of the Bair Hugger deep joint infection, Frederick has been forced to undergo further medical procedures to attempt to alleviate this unfortunate side effect.

The Bair Hugger deep joint infection lawsuit was filed on multiple counts, including negligence, failure to warn, defective design and manufacture, breach of express and implied warranties, fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment, and others. Frederick filed his Bair Hugger deep joint infection on in February in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

The Bair Hugger Warming System

Plaintiffs involved in Bair Hugger deep joint infection lawsuits across the country allege that the Bair Hugger warming system used to warm patients during surgery actually exposes patients to contaminants in the room by blowing hot air onto exposed surgical sites.

Lawsuits allege that the air currents sweep up bacteria from the floor, blowing them directly into the surgical site and allowing for severe problems, such as joint infections. Joint infections can cause permanent damage, necessitate further operations, and cause serious physical and financial harm.

The Bair Hugger deep joint infection lawsuit, as well as other lawsuits like it, allege that 3M Company was actually aware of the risk of Bair Hugger deep joint infection associated with its device, but chose to conceal those risks from the public and the medical community. Indeed, according to these lawsuits, the company has been aware of their product’s risk of allowing contaminants into surgical wounds since at least 2009. Despite these known risks, the company continued to aggressively market the product as safe and effective during surgeries.

While 3M Company claims that the Bair Hugger’s filtration system meets High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Standards, requiring that the filter can remove 99.97 percent of particles larger than 0.3 microns, plaintiffs counter that the Bair Hugger allegedly falls far below this standard.

More than 50,000 Bair Hugger units are in use across the country, meaning that thousands of people are constantly placed at risk of exposure to contaminants.

Bair Hugger Deep Joint Infection Lawsuits

Many injured parties are coming forward with allegations of the Bair Hugger device causing serious and sometimes permanent infection and injury during surgeries. These plaintiffs hope to gain some kind of financial compensation in return for their physical, emotional, and financial suffering felt as a result of the use of the Bair Hugger product.

If you or someone you love has suffered from infection or injury after undergoing a surgery where a Bair Hugger was used, you may have cause to file a Bair Hugger deep joint infection lawsuit.

The Bair Hugger Deep Joint Infection Lawsuit is Case No. 0:18-cv-00341-JNE-FLN, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.