On December 11, 2015, several federal lawsuits against 3M Company and Arizant Healthcare, Inc. for alleged infections from the Bair Hugger were consolidated in multi-district litigation (MDL).
These cases all involve a line of medical devices known as Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming units (the “Bair Hugger”). The plaintiffs allege that they developed infections during surgery as a result of the use of the Bair Hugger and allege causes of action relating to the development, manufacture, testing, regulatory approval process, and marketing of the Bair Hugger, according to the Court.
MDL Consolidation in Lieu of a Class Action Lawsuit
These lawsuits were consolidated in MDL instead of a class action because the plaintiffs’ (people suing) injury claims have enough individual issues not shared by the other claims, for example, the degree of harm suffered by each person varies depending on the type of bacteria involved and the injuries caused by that pathogen.
The Bair Hugger MDL consisted of over seventy product liability personal injury lawsuits on December 11, 2015, but that number is growing. You can join these injured patients and file a lawsuit for compensation and justice. You can contact attorneys Fred Pritzker and David Szerlag for a free consultation at 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free).
On December 11, 2015, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation determined that efficiencies could be gained by centralizing these cases, and any other similar case subsequently filed in federal court, for coordinated pretrial proceedings in a single district. Lawsuits from several states are now part of MDL proceedings in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (MDL NO. 2666). The presiding judges are U.S. District Court Judge Joan N. Ericksen and Magistrate Judge Franklin N. Noel, both with offices in Minneapolis.
Attorney David Szerlag named Liaison Counsel for Bair Hugger
On February 18, 2016, the initial pretrial conference for the Bair Hugger litigation was held. The Court named attorney David Szerlag Liaison Counsel for the MDL. As Liaison Counsel, David is a member of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee.
Contact our law firm and talk to Fred or David for free about your product liability claim against the manufacturer of the Bair Hugger. Our law firm is representing people who contracted infections after using the Bair Hugger. David and his team filed a suit last week on behalf of a man from Minnesota who got a severe infection after hip replacement surgery using a Bair Hugger.