At present, there are have been over 40 lawsuits filed against 3M over the Bair Hugger warming blanket, and I expect that number to grow. All of the complaints share similar allegations that after joint replacement surgery in which the device was used, patients developed catastrophic injuries, including infections, repeated joint surgeries, immobility and in severe cases amputations of knees and legs. According to the lawsuits, 3M knew about the hip and knee surgical infection risk for many years, but failed to make design changes or warn the doctors and hospitals. Continue reading →