A Texas woman alleges she suffered from serious Bair Hugger side effects in a new lawsuit against medical device manufacturer 3M Company.

The plaintiff, Rebecca F., underwent right total knee arthroplasty on April 15, 2016. A Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming system was used to maintain body temperature during the surgery.

Unfortunately, Rebecca alleges in her lawsuit that the she has suffered from serious Bair Hugger side effects after her surgery, because the system introduced contaminants to her open surgical wound. Rebecca says she developed a deep joint infection, or periprosthetic joint infection with a pathogen known as staphylococcus aureus. Her Bair Hugger side effects became apparent just a few short weeks after the initial surgical procedure, she claims.

Because of these serious Bair Hugger side effects, Rebecca alleges she has since been forced to undergo further medical procedures to alleviate her suffering. These procedures included incision and drainage, explantation of the right total knee device, skin graft, and more over a period of several months during 2016.

Rebecca has since turned to litigation, filing a lawsuit against 3M company, the Bair Hugger device’s manufacturer. Rebecca’s Bair Hugger side effects 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 several others. The Bair Hugger side effects lawsuit was filed on March 13, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

The Bair Hugger Warming System

The Bair Hugger side effects lawsuit and others like it allege that 3M Company was actually aware that the Bair Hugger warming system was connected with unreasonably dangerous risks, and had been aware for years, but chose to conceal these risks from the public and the medical community.

The company has been aware of these major Bair Hugger side effects since at least 2009, lawsuits claim. However, plaintiffs say the company continued to aggressively market the product as safe and effective for use during surgeries.

While 3M Company claims that the Bair Hugger’s filtration system meets High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Standards, which require that the filter can remove 99.97 percent of particles larger than 0.3 microns, plaintiffs say the Bair Hugger can only remove less than 65 percent of these particles.

Plaintiffs allege that the Bair Hugger warming system actually exposes patients to contaminants in the room by blowing hot air on exposed surgical sites. The air currents allegedly sweep up bacteria from the floor, blowing them into the surgical site and allowing for severe infections, such as deep joint infections, which can cause permanent damage, necessitate further operations, and cause serious physical and financial harm. More than 50,000 Bair Hugger units are in use across the country.

Filing a Bair Hugger Side Effects Lawsuit

More and more patients are coming forward with claims that the Bair Hugger device caused serious and sometimes permanent infection and injury during surgeries. If you or someone you love has suffered from infection or injury after undergoing a surgery in which a Bair Hugger was used, you may have cause to file a Bair Hugger side effects lawsuit.

The Bair Hugger Side Effects Lawsuit is Case No. 0:18-cv-00701-JNE-FLN, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.