Bair Hugger Litigations Consolidated into Multidistrict Litigation in Minnesota

The Bair Hugger operates like a forced-air heater by carrying warmed air through a hose to a disposable blanket that is placed over the patient. The Bair Hugger helps to maintain the patient’s body temperature during surgery; due to several factors including anesthesia, IV fluids or a cold operating room, a patient’s body temperature can drop by up to 35 degrees in the first 35 minutes of surgery. Plaintiffs alleged that when the product circulated unsterile air from the surgery room floor to the surgical site, it allowed bacteria to enter the surgical site and caused an infection.

On August 21, 2015, a motion was sent to the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to consolidate the Bair Hugger litigation into a MDL in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, the location of Defendant 3M’s worldwide headquarters. 3M opposed the creation of a Bair Hugger MDL, arguing that the cases are too unique and the claims are not rooted in accepted scientific fact. Additionally, Defendant 3M contended that Plaintiffs’ allegations were all part of a huge “smear campaign” launched by the product’s creator, Dr. Scott Augustine. Dr. Augustine has publically denounced the product as unsafe and wrote a New York Times article on the subject in 2010, just months after selling his company to 3M for $810 million. However, Plaintiffs’ attorneys have maintained that Dr. Augustine has no affiliations with the pending lawsuits.

In addition to the newly created Bair Hugger MDL, dozens of Bair Hugger cases have also been filed against 3M in Minnesota’s Ramsey County District Court under Judge William Leary. The first scheduling conference for these cases is set for December 22, 2015.

The case is: In Re: Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming Devices Products Liability Litigation – MDL No. 2666.