8th Cir. Reinstates Bair Hugger Warming Device MDL

MINNEAPOLIS — A federal appeals panel has reinstated the Bair Hugger Warming Device multidistrict litigation, ruling that the MDL court erred in excluding the opinions of plaintiffs’ engineering and medical experts and awarding 3M Co. summary judgment.

In an Aug. 16 opinion, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found studies support the experts’ opinions that the device can cause infection during surgery by contaminating the air in the operating room.

The Bair Hugger, which is intended to keep surgical patients warm during hip and knee surgeries, has a central unit, hose, and blanket. The central unit draws in operating-room …