Dozens of Minnesota lawsuits that allege that the Bair Hugger forced-air warmer caused deep joint infections have been dismissed, according to an article on the Outpatient Surgery website.
More than 4,000 orthopedic surgery patients from across the country have made a similar claim in pending federal lawsuits.
"There is no generally accepted scientific evidence — and plaintiffs offer none — that the risk of infection associated with forced-air warming systems is greater than that associated with patients who are not warmed during surgery," according to the curt decision.
Federal prosecutors are expected to call many of the same expert witnesses and rely on many of the same studies as the Minnesota case.
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