Latest Updates about 3M™ Bair Hugger™ Therapy
November 20, 2018
3M secured two more pivotal victories in the multidistrict litigation involving the 3M™ Bair Hugger™ warming system as plaintiffs’ attorneys dismissed another two bellwether cases. The two dismissals now bring the number of bellwether cases dismissed by plaintiffs’ attorneys to six. Lawyer Seth Webb of the law firm of Brown & Crouppen voluntarily dismissed David Henderson v. 3M and Julio & Maria Ramirez v. 3M on […]
October 9, 2018
More than 500 lawsuits now have been dismissed – all in favor of 3M – in the litigation involving the 3M™ Bair Hugger™ warming system. The large number of dismissals result from a variety of reasons: Plaintiffs are unable to substantiate their claims. Plaintiff’s attorneys have voluntarily dismissed cases, including bellwether cases they nominated for trial. The Bair Hugger system may not have been used during […]
August 8, 2018
Plaintiff’s attorneys drop next bellwether case before trial Four bellwether cases already dismissed Plaintiff’s attorneys have dismissed another bellwether case slated for trial in the litigation involving the 3M™ Bair Hugger™ system, marking the fourth such case to be dismissed before ever coming to trial. On July 10, attorneys for Laura Hives asked a Minnesota federal court to dismiss the case. Hives, who claimed she contracted […]
August 3, 2018
After jury verdict in favor of 3M, plaintiffs fail in attempt to switch bellwether cases to other jurisdictions In the wake of a unanimous jury verdict in favor of 3M and its Bair Hugger™ warming system, a federal court has denied a request by plaintiffs to effectively move their bellwether cases out of Minnesota into other jurisdictions for trial. The ruling was yet another victory for […]
July 24, 2018
More than 400 lawsuits have been dismissed in the litigation involving the 3M™ Bair Hugger™ warming system. Nearly all of the dismissals, which now number 464, occurred prior to the recent jury verdict in favor of 3M. On May 30, 2018, a federal jury deliberated for less than two hours in the first bellwether case involving the Bair Hugger system before reaching its verdict. The jury […]
May 31, 2018
Verdict affirms science behind 3M Bair Hugger System Today, a federal jury ruled in favor of 3M, concluding that the 3M™ Bair Hugger™ patient warming system did not cause the plaintiff’s infection. The jury deliberated less than two hours before reaching its verdict.. 3M is grateful that the jury put science first. This verdict affirms the science behind the 3M Bair Hugger system, which has been […]
March 7, 2018
More than 300 lawsuits have been dismissed in the litigation involving the 3M™ Bair Hugger™ warming system, with more expected in coming months. The dismissals are not a surprise to 3M’s legal team, which expected that a significant number of the lawsuits filed in the multi-district litigation would not meet the proper legal standards. The dismissals result from a variety of reasons: The Bair Hugger system […]
January 9, 2018
Ruling notes Scott Augustine role in litigation 3M won a major victory on January 8, 2018, when a state court granted summary judgment in the litigation involving the 3M™ Bair Hugger™ warming system. The ruling dismisses 61 lawsuits that had been filed by Minnesota plaintiffs who claimed the warming device had caused their infections. In its 19-page decision, the court said that “there is no generally […]
July 20, 2016
It’s worth reading this November 2015 study and watching the accompanying videos, available here. They do a great job of explaining how airflow works in an operating room, and use science to show that the Bair Hugger Warming System did not disrupt clean operating room airflow and did not move air from the floor to the surgical site.
August 20, 2016
At 3M’s request, the federal court overseeing litigation involving the Bair Hugger Patient Warming System hosted a Science Day session on May 19, designed to allow the parties an early opportunity to educate the Court on their respective views of the science. At Science Day, 3M’s experts outlined the safety and benefits of the Bair Hugger’s system and pointed to the lack of any scientific proof […]
September 20, 2016
Watch this video, which shows the surgical draping process for a simulated hip replacement. The draping process starts by sealing the Bair Hugger warming blanket to the patient’s chest with an adhesive strip so that air cannot escape back toward the surgical site. Next, a cotton blanket is placed over the upper body blanket followed by multiple layers of surgical drapes. Finally, a surgical drape separates […]
October 20, 2016
Guess how many scientific studies prove that the 3M™ Bair Hugger™ Patient Warming System can cause surgical site infections? Zero. None. Nada. Now, guess how many publications show proven benefits of patient warming? Dozens and dozens and dozens. 3M recently published an interactive compendium of scientific research conducted over the past 25+ years related to the Bair Hugger warming system. It includes more than 200 publication summaries […]
November 19, 2016
This video has a simple and sensible message. People should not depend on lawyers to diagnose medical conditions and causes – that’s better left to physicians and medical experts. We are sympathetic to patients who have experienced surgical site infections, but we’re not sympathetic when lawyers frighten patients with unsupported claims in the hope of getting a financial settlement. More than 200 million patients have been […]
November 26, 2016
An anesthesiologist who supposedly authored a complaint to the FDA about the 3M™ Bair Hugger™ warming system in 2010 acknowledged in a recent deposition that he didn’t write the report, nor did he file it with the FDA. Under questioning, Dr. Robert Gauthier admitted that the letter he signed actually was written by executives of Augustine Temperature Management, a 3M competitor. Scott Augustine, the company’s founder, […]
December 19, 2016
An Illinois judge has dismissed a lawsuit against 3M Company and its Bair Hugger surgical warming device. Madison County Circuit Judge William A. Mudge on August 25 granted the request from Carol Wiltshire to dismiss her lawsuit. She and her husband, Jeff Wiltshire, had sued 3M in November 2015, claiming an infection she contracted after knee surgery was the result of negligence on the part of […]
January 1, 2017
The Duke Infection Control Outreach Network has notified hospitals that it recommends they keep using forced-air warming devices (such as the 3M™ Bair Hugger™ warming system) during surgeries. You can read DICON’s review here. In the strongly worded missive, DICON said the warming devices are “the only devices proven to decrease the risk of developing a post-operative infection.’’ It noted that forced-air warming (FAW) devices have […]