Articles Tagged with Bair Hugger

Bair Hugger lawsuits are on the rise. The number of lawsuit filed against the makers of Bair Hugger warming blanket skyrocketed in June, according to a Reuters analysis of the data from the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

As of August 3, 2016 there are 457 pending lawsuits against 3M, the manufacturer of the Bair Hugger device. Most of these lawsuits are pending in federal or state court in Minnesota. Most plaintiffs had hip or knee replacement surgery or cardiovascular surgery and later developed surgical infections they claim was caused by the use of the Bair Hugger device.

In one lawsuit, filed by Edgar C. Woodyear Jr.’s window, alleges that he underwent a cardiac mitral valve replacement surgery and suffered a serious surgical site infection, which resulted in his death, according to the Louisiana Record. The plaintiffs claim 3M is responsible because they allegedly “designed, manufactured, promoted, marketed and distributed the defective device and concealed and continue to conceal their knowledge of the Bair Hugger’s unreasonably dangerous risks from consumers and the medical community”.

Hip and knee infection on the rise. Some patients who develop an infection after undergoing hip or knee replacement surgery have filed lawsuits against the makers of a device named Bair Hugger. The device is used in a number of hip and knee replacement surgery and may be linked to some serious side effects.

The Bair Hugger device is usually used without the patients knowledge. The device is a warming blanket used to help maintain a patient’s body temperature during surgery. Doctors utilize this device to maintain a patient’s body temperature because studies have shown that maintaining proper body temperature can reduce bleeding, speed up recovery time, and provide other benefits.

Surgical warming blankets, such as Bair Hugger, work like a forced-air heater, pushing warm air through a hose into a blanket covering a patient. The device releases warm air over a patient’s body, but also releases air under the surgical table. The air released under the table has the potential to cause bacteria and germs to spread throughout the room, landing on a patient’s surgical site. This may cause an infection in the patient’s knee or hip, such as sepsis and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Unfortunately, these infections are very difficult to treat when they occur deep in a patient’s joint.

Some patients who develop an infection after undergoing hip or knee replacement surgery have filed lawsuits against the makers of a device named Bair Hugger. The device is used in a number of hip and knee replacement surgery and may be linked to some serious side effects.

The Bair Hugger device is usually used without the patients knowledge. The device is a warming blanket used to help maintain a patient’s body temperature during surgery. Doctors utilize devices to maintain a patient’s body temperature because studies have shown that maintaining proper body temperature can reduce bleeding, speed up recovery time, and provide other benefits.

Surgical warming blankets, such as Bair Hugger, work like a forced-air heater, pushing warm air through a hose into a blanket covering a patient. The device releases warm air over a patient’s body, but also releases air under the surgical table. The air released under the table may have the potential to cause bacteria and germs to spread throughout the room, landing on a patient’s surgical site. This may cause an infection in the patient’s knee or hip, such as sepsis and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Unfortunately, these infections are very difficult to treat when they occur deep in a patient’s joint.

The Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming system, a system used in operating rooms across the country, may increase patients’ risk of developing sepsis, MRSA, and other serious infections, particularly after hip and knee replacement surgeries.

Lawsuits filed across the country allege that the heat generated by the device can redirect air circulating during surgery. This redirection may cause bacteria and other contaminants on the floor to become airborne. The airborne contaminants may increase a patients’ risk of developing MRSA or other infections, according to the lawsuits.

Many of the lawsuits filed are by patients who underwent hip or knee replacement surgery and were left with serious deep joint infections. In some cases, these infections required additional surgeries and painful recoveries such as the removal and replacement of the artificial joint.