Bair Hugger Injuries from Warming Blanket Technology

The Bair Hugger warming blanket is used to help people who need warming after an injury or operation, where their core body temperature has fallen to dangerous low levels. For example, if a person is suffering from hypothermia, the Bair Hugger blanket technology is able to warm the person’s body up again to create a better environment in the hospital for healing.

A person can be injured seriously by a Bair Hugger blanket, when it is responsible to provide damage to the person’s internal organs or cause trouble with rewarming after a surgical procedure. The forced-air warming blanket does not have specific guidelines for certain surgeries, and some use of the blanket post-surgery can cause damage to the individual using the blanket. You may be injured by the use of the blanket with injuries such as:

• Infection within 1 year of joint replacement surgery
• 1 or more surgeries required to treat infection - had to remove hardware, not just Incision and Drainage (I&D)

The Bair Hugger blanket works by using a system to draw in air and push it into an internal filter in the hugger, which then warms the air to a preselected temperature to warm the person using the blanket. The warmed air goes into a hose that is enclosed from the outside air of the room, and forces air into the Bair Hugger bag, which puffs up the bag around the patient, helping to warm the person’s core body temperature.

The Bair Huggers can cause a personal injury in several ways. One way that the Bair Hugger causes injury is when the waste heat from the air:

• Disrupts the operating room overflow of air
• Moves and distributes contaminated air from the floor up to the surgical field for the person using the Bair Hugger

The injuries that can be sustained from a Bair Hugger can include:

• Postoperative complications
• Infection
• Blood loss
• Operative time
• Longer length of stay following a surgical procedure
• Hypothermia
• Myocardial events
• Surgical site infection
• Bacterial contamination of the surgical field
• Prolonged abdominal surgery

You can make a personal injury claim in our office for an injury related to a Bair Hugger if you have experienced the following factors:

• If incision and drainage was followed by surgery removing hardware, you can review your claim with our legal team
• If your initial joint replacement surgery was 2019 – present, we can review your claim

If there is a large personal injuries damages case, we will consider 2016 – present managing your claim for the following qualifying injuries from use of the Bair Hugger:

• Multiple Surgeries
• Amputation
• Death

You can call our Los Angeles legal experts, and we will review your claim for you regarding injuries suffered from the use of a Bair Hugger device. All that you need to do is call us today to start the process, and we will review your claim with you right now.

If you have certain conditions, you will be disqualified from being able to initiate a claim for a personal injury related to Bair Hugger in our Los Angeles legal office. These conditions are as follows:

• If you have previously retained or settled a Bair Hugger claim with another law firm
• If you have no qualifying injury
• If our only treatment for your injury was Incision and Drainage
• If you had an initial joint replacement surgery before the year 2019

If you are unsure if you are eligible for a lawsuit, you can call our Los Angeles lawyers to review your claim with you. We understand that you may have many questions regarding your personal injury claim, and we are here to answer your questions for you and review your next steps. It is easy to make the first call, all that you have to do is pick up the phone and dial our law office today at 866-INJURY 2 or 866-465-8792.

Bair Huggers are used in surgical theaters to monitor the flow of air and warmth of the patient’s body during a surgical procedure. The Bair Hugger device is dangerous to use for a patient during a surgical procedure, because the devices puts the patient at a higher risk for developing a surgical site infection. The Bair Hugger takes air from the room and can distribute air from a contaminated floor of a surgical room and blow it into the warming blanket. That air captured by the warming blanket may contaminate the surgical site in that situation.

This is an excellent question, and one which we cannot answer because we are not in the room when the Bair Hugger warming blanket device is being used. But we can tell you that if the healthcare provider is not using the Bair Hugger correctly and within the guidelines of the manufacturer’s recommendations, then there is a high risk of injury to the patient in that case.

The Bair Hugger is a dangerous apparatus when it is used incorrectly. Here are some scenarios that can seriously injure you if the Bair Hugger is used improperly in the healthcare setting, including:

• If the patient is left to lie on the warming hose unit, there can be burn injuries as a result of this neglect.
• Any time the warming hose unit has direct contact with the patient’s skin it can seriously burn the skin.
• The patients who are left unattended with a torn or damaged gown near the warming unit risk burns or fire injuries.
• If the over temperature light goes on the Bair Hugger, it is warming too fast and an alarm will sound.
• The healthcare provider should not continue 241 blood or fluid warming therapy if the Bair Hugger overheats to prevent a risk of injury.
• The Bair Hugger needs to be cleaned after each use.
• The air filters need to be cleaned to prevent contamination.
• The Bair Hugger blanket is not sterile and can contaminate a patient’s wounds.
• If the power cord or unit is damaged, it can have a risk of fire to the patient.
• If the wires and cords of the Bair Hubber get in between the warming unit and the IV, ECG or blood pressure cuff, there can be problems and injuries to the patient.

If you have a personal injury from the use of a Bair Hugger product, you can call our office to talk to the knowledgeable Los Angeles lawyers on our legal team. We care about your personal injury claim and want to talk to you about recovery compensation for your losses. You can call us today at the Law Offices of Gary K. Walch at 866-INJURY 2 or 866-465-8792. Our legal team is ready to review your personal injury case with you now. We will provide you with the next steps to initiate a lawsuit based on the merits of your personal injury claim. Call today to start the process to healing and recovery at 866-INJURY 2 or 866-465-8792.