3M Moves to Dismiss 100+ Bair Hugger Infection Lawsuits

3M Moves to Dismiss 100+ Bair Hugger Infection Lawsuits

Introduction

Nearly a decade after litigation first began, 3M Company continues to face thousands of lawsuits over its Bair Hugger warming blankets, which have been linked to serious and sometimes fatal surgical site infections. 
The company is attempting to reduce the number of pending cases but still faces significant legal challenges.

Bair Hugger and Allegations of Surgical Infections

The Bair Hugger warming blanket is designed for use in operating rooms to regulate body temperature during orthopedic joint replacement surgeries. It works by forcing warm air into a blanket placed over the patient. However, nearly 8,000 lawsuits claim that the device has a defective design that disrupts laminar airflow in operating rooms, stirring up floor contaminants and directing them into sterile surgical sites. This, plaintiffs argue, has led to deep joint infections requiring additional surgeries, including joint removal and replacement.

Legal Battles and Supreme Court Ruling

Litigation against 3M began in 2015. In 2019, after years of legal proceedings, a U.S. District Judge dismissed the lawsuits after rejecting the plaintiffs’ expert witness testimony. However, an appeals court later overturned that decision, and in 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the litigation, sending the cases back to the District of Minnesota for trial.

3M Seeks Dismissal of Over 100 Cases

On March 3, attorneys for 3M and its subsidiary, Arizant, filed a motion requesting the dismissal of 103 plaintiffs. The company claims these individuals failed to provide proper documentation proving that a Bair Hugger warming blanket was used during their surgery. Plaintiffs were previously required to identify the device used by submitting medical records through the Bates numbering system, which assigns unique codes to medical documents for tracking purposes.

Potential Consequences of Dismissal

3M’s motion asks plaintiffs to update their Plaintiff Fact Sheet with the necessary information or face dismissal with prejudice, meaning they would be permanently barred from refiling their claims, even if they later found the required documentation.

Future of the Litigation

Even if the dismissal request is granted, 3M would still face more than 7,800 active lawsuits. If no settlement is reached, the presiding judge must decide whether to proceed with bellwether trials or remand the cases to their original courts for individual trials, as requested by the plaintiffs.