When we go to the hospital for surgery or any other type of care we expect that we will be well taken care of and at least healthier when we leave. Unfortunately, some medical devices that are used during surgery to keep patients’ body temperatures normal are also leading to some serious and life-threatening infections. If you or someone you know has developed a serious infection or other dangerous medical condition after having a surgical procedure in the hospital, you should speak to a dangerous medical device and Bair Hugger injury lawyer at the Higgins Firm. We will listen to your case and help you to receive the compensation you need for what you have been through.
According to this case, Rosie Bartel went into the hospital for knee replacement surgery years ago and left the hospital with a MRSA infection which led to the need for twenty-seven more surgeries and the amputation of right leg just below the hip. She blamed the use of a Bair Hugger forced-air patient warming system during her surgery, eventually filed a Bair Hugger lawsuit. In her lawsuit, she claimed that the MRSA infection took more than her leg. It also led to the loss of her job and eventually her home. Bartel has now become an advocate against the forced-air surgical warming systems that were employed during no fewer than twenty-two million surgical procedures in 2012 alone.
The Bair Hugger warming blanket was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1988 . A blanket dotted with a myriad of tiny holes connects to a forced-air heating unit that rests on the floor near the operating table. The unit carries heat via forced air to the blanket, with the warm air transferred to the patient through the blanket. While the heat and air unit remained a constant, single-use blankets meant a revenue source for the manufacturer. After several years in use, infections were becoming a problem, and especially for joint replacement surgery where a single germ could have devastating consequences.