A recent lawsuit claims that the Bair Hugger warming blanket is defective and leads to life threatening infections.

Plaintiff Linda B. reportedly underwent surgery in June 2017, during which a Bair Hugger warming blanket was allegedly used. Following her surgery, Linda reportedly began to experience adverse side effects and discovered that she had developed a periprosthetic joint infection, also known as a deep joint infection.

To treat her infection, Linda says she required IV antibiotics, debridement, and a two-stage revision surgery. She was reportedly treated from March 2017 to August 2018.

Linda claims that her deep joint infection was a direct result of defects allegedly associated with the Bair Hugger.

The Bair Hugger system is a portable heater, blower, and blanket system used to keep patients warm during surgeries. The system intakes air from the operating room floor, passes it through a filter, warms the air, and directs it into the reusable blanket. The blanket has holes so that the warm air can provide warmth to the patient’s exposed skin.

3M, the device’s manufacturer, states that the Bair Hugger system “provides the widest range of best-in-class patient warming products to help clinicians own the zone — keeping a patient’s core body temperature within the normothermic temperature zone of 36.0° to 37.5°C — and safeguard patients while improving outcomes.”

The lawsuit against Bair Hugger manufacturers claims that, while the warming blanket system provides warmth to patients, lets warm air escape from the blanket and return into the room. This allegedly triggers convection currents that disrupt the downward airflow of the operating room, allowing bacteria from the non-sterile floor to contaminate the surgical field.

“Scientific studies have shown that as this warmed air rises against the downward airflow in the operating room, it deposits bacteria from the non-sterile portions of the operating theater to the surgical site,” the Bair Hugger warming blanket lawsuit claims.

3M allegedly knew about the risks associated with their device but failed to warn consumers and doctors of the risks so that they could prevent contamination and deep joint infections in patients.

Linda’s experience is unfortunately not unique. In late 2017, the Star Tribune reported that 3M faced over 50 lawsuits from patients who allegedly experienced deep joint infections as a result of Bair Hugger usage during surgery. Since then, this number has grown, with more consumers seeking compensation for their suffering and aiming to hold manufacturers accountable.

Linda accuses the Bair Hugger manufacturers of negligence, failure to warn, defective design, defective manufacture, breach of warranties, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, unjust enrichment, and violation of Minnesota and Illinois state consumer protection laws.

Linda’s husband, George B., also joins her in her lawsuit and brings claims of loss of consortium against the Bair Hugger manufacturers.

The Bair Hugger lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, statutory damages, restitution, disgorgement, court cost, and attorneys’ fees.

The Bair Hugger Lawsuit is Case No. 0:15-md-02666-JNE-FLN and is part of the Bair Hugger MDL, In re: Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming Products Liability Litigation, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.