3M Must Face Medical Blanket Infection Suits, Users Tell SCOTUS

Joint-replacement patients alleging a 3M Co. surgical warming blanket caused severe infections urged the Supreme Court not to review the Eighth Circuit’s reinstatement of thousands of cases, saying the appeals court applied settled law in ruling that their expert testimony should have been admitted.

The Bair Hugger consists of a portable heater and blower connected by a flexible hose to a blanket. It warms patients by blowing heated air through the blanket onto their exposed skin. Plaintiffs allege the device disrupts the airflow in operating rooms, allowing contaminated air to cause infection at the surgical site.

The lawsuits were combined ...