3M Seeks Dismissal of More Than 100 Bair Hugger Infection Lawsuits

Lawsuits allege that the 3M Bair Hugger warming blankets caused devastating surgical infections, but the manufacturer claims plaintiffs have failed to establish the product was used during their procedure.

Nearly 10 years after the litigation first began, 3M Company is still attempting to pare down some of the thousands of surgical infection lawsuits it faces over problems with its Bair Hugger warming blankets, which have been blamed for causing serious, and sometimes deadly, surgical site infections.

The Bair Hugger has been marketed for use in surgical operating rooms, to help control body temperature during orthopedic joint replacement procedures, by forcing warm air into a blanket placed over the patient.

However, the company faces nearly 8,000 Bair Hugger infection lawsuits claiming the warming blanket features a defective design, which disrupts the laminar air flow in the operating room, stirring up contaminants on the floor and blowing them into the sterile surgical site. This can lead to severe deep joint infections, which could require additional surgeries, including removing and replacing the infected joint.

In 2019, after five years of litigation, U.S. District Judge Joan N. Ericksen rejected the plaintiffs’ expert witness, which resulted in the dismissal of the Bair Hugger lawsuits. However, an appeals court reversed her decision, and a series of appeals led to the U.S. Supreme Court reinstating the litigation in 2022, sending the cases back to the District of Minnesota for trial.

On March 3, attorneys representing 3M Company and its subsidiary Arizant submitted a proposed order (PDF), calling for the dismissal of 103 plaintiffs whom the defendants claim have failed to submit proper documentation identifying that a Bair Hugger was used during their surgery.

3M indicates these plaintiffs were previously ordered to identify warming blankets used in their surgery through the Bates numbering system. The system provides each medical document with a unique code, which can be used to identify which medical devices were used during a particular procedure.

The motion calls for plaintiffs to put the data into an amended Plaintiffs Fact Sheet, or be dismissed with prejudice, which would block the plaintiffs from refiling later, even if the correct documents were found.

However, even if successful, 3M still would face more than 7,800 remaining lawsuits. If a Bair Hugger infection settlement agreement or some other resolution cannot be reached, it will be up to Judge Ericksen whether to move forward with bellwether trials or remand them to their original courts for trial, as plaintiffs have requested.