Latest Updates about 3M™ Bair Hugger™ Therapy
June 19, 2024
On June 18, 2024, a Missouri state appellate court upheld 3M’s trial victory in O’Haver v. 3M. The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District unanimously rejected all nine arguments raised by the Plaintiff on appeal. O’Haver was one of two cases involving the Bair Hugger system that have gone to trial. 3M won both and appellate courts have now upheld both verdicts. Bill Childs, […]
October 14, 2022
On Oct. 13, 2022, an Independence, Missouri, state court jury returned a verdict in favor of 3M in the second Bair Hugger trial. 3M has now successfully defended the 3M Bair Hugger™ warming system in the two cases that have gone before a jury. The jury, which heard evidence for two weeks, deliberated slightly more than two hours before deciding in favor of 3M. The verdict […]
August 17, 2021
August 17, 2021 The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2018 jury verdict in favor of 3M in Gareis – the only case involving the 3M™ Bair Hugger™ system that has gone to trial. As the Court of Appeals noted: “The jury returned a special verdict for 3M, finding that the Gareises failed to prove both that the Bair Hugger was defectively designed and that […]
August 1, 2019
Court dismisses all federal lawsuits against Bair Hugger system. In an important win for 3M, a federal court on July 31 dismissed all of the federal lawsuits against the 3M™ Bair Hugger™ patient warming system, granting 3M’s motion that argued there is no scientific support for claims that the Bair Hugger system can cause infections. On August 1, 2019, 3M issued a press release regarding the […]
April 1, 2019
State Supreme Court denies plaintiffs’ request to review rulings 3M scored another victory in the Bair Hugger litigation on March 27, 2019, when the Minnesota Supreme Court denied a request to reconsider the dismissal of 61 cases that improperly blamed the Bair Hugger patient warming system for surgical site infections. The Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from the decision of the Ramsey County District […]
April 1, 2019
Here is the latest update on the status of the multi-district litigation involving the 3M™ Bair Hugger™ warming system. Of the 14 bellwether cases selected thus far in this litigation: One case went to trial and 3M won. Nine have been withdrawn by plaintiffs before ever reaching trial. One was dismissed by a federal district court. Another was dismissed by a Minnesota state court. One was […]
January 15, 2019
Court upholds dismissal of 61 Minnesota cases Ruling extends 3M’s string of victories in 3M™ Bair Hugger™ system litigation 3M won another significant legal victory on Jan. 14, 2019, when the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s dismissal of 61 cases that inappropriately blamed the Bair Hugger patient warming system for surgical site infections. The appeals court affirmed a decision by a Ramsey County […]
December 24, 2018
3M continued its string of victories in the litigation involving the 3M™ Bair Hugger™ warming system, when a federal district court dismissed a bellwether case, Axline v. 3M, on December 21. As a result, plaintiffs’ attorneys now have withdrawn, or courts have dismissed, a total of ten bellwether cases, which initially were selected to be representative of the other cases in the multidistrict litigation (MDL). Indeed, […]
December 20, 2015
December 2015 A five-member panel consolidated a group of lawsuits against 3M Company and the 3M Bair Hugger Warming System in to a Multi-District Litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. In supporting the decision, 3M said it is “now convinced that consolidation of this litigation in an MDL in Minnesota will provide the fastest and most efficient means of vindicating their […]
April 10, 2016
A trauma center at a Dallas hospital reduced average times that patients suffered lower body temperatures by using the 3M™ Bair Hugger™ warming system more frequently. This story details improvements at Parkland Memorial Hospital, which trained its trauma staff to use the warming system more frequently. Abnormal body temperature is an independent predictor of death in trauma. While patient warming systems are used widely in emergency rooms, […]
April 20, 2016
This legal declaration from 3M details the long campaign by competitor Scott Augustine to disparage the 3M Bair Hugger warming system. Read the filing here.
May 10, 2016
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a Warning Letter to 3M competitor Scott Augustine in 2012 for making claims about his company’s device that were not supported by data submitted to the FDA. The FDA said Augustine’s Hot Dog Warming System is “adulterated’’ and “misbranded’’ as a result of the claims made by Augustine. From the FDA letter: “Please notify this office in writing within […]
May 20, 2016
Top Class Actions has invited 3M to respond to recent coverage of lawsuits filed against 3M regarding its Bair Hugger Surgical Warming System. 3M believes strongly that none of these cases have merit and is eager to prove that in court. There is no valid evidence that anyone has ever contracted a surgical site infection from the Bair Hugger system. Likewise, there is no scientific study […]
June 10, 2016
Of all the questions surrounding patient warming, the most burning is this: Do forced-air warmers circulate contaminants that can cause wound infections, as a spate of recent lawsuits alleges? Read on as we tackle this and other hot topics surrounding your quest to maintain normothermia. 1. Does forced-air warming cause SSIs? Of the many proven benefits of maintaining normothermia, perhaps the greatest is that it staves […]
June 20, 2016
A trauma center at a Dallas hospital reduced average times that patients suffered lower body temperatures by using the 3M Bair Hugger warming system more frequently. This story details improvements at Parkland Memorial Hospital, which trained its trauma staff to use the warming system more frequently. Abnormal body temperature is an independent predictor of death in trauma. While patient warming systems are used widely in emergency rooms, […]
July 19, 2016
John P. Abraham, Ph. D., University of St. Thomas and Jennifer A. Wagner, Ph. D., Prism Environmental Health and Safety Solutions The Bair Hugger Warming System provides a safe and effective way to maintain normal body temperature during surgery. When used properly the Bair Hugger Warming System lowers the risk of hypothermia and improves patient recovery and surgery outcomes (i.e. reduces risk of surgical site infection, […]