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Tennessee CPAP Machine Recall Lawyer

Many Tennessee residents suffer from sleep apnea, a serious disorder that causes a person’s breathing to repeatedly stop and start while sleeping. While sleep apnea is often associated with loud snoring, it often has more serious serious complications, including daytime fatigue, high blood pressure, heart problems, and even an increased risk for type-2 diabetes, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Continuous positive airway pressure (or CPAP) machines are frequently used to treat sleep apnea. These devices provide a constant stream of pressurized air to a person’s nose or mouth. In turn, this facilitates more consistent and normal breathing during the night.

Unfortunately, a major producer of CPAP and similar ventilation devices, Philips Respironics, recently issued a recall at the direction of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to the FDA, the recalled devices have been linked to a cancer-causing particle that may be inhaled during normal use of the ventilators. If you have suffered an injury that may be linked to a recalled device, our Tennessee CPAP machine recall lawyers at Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette are here for you.

Cancer Risk Found in Foam

Specifically, the FDA identified polyester-based polyurethane (PE-PUR) foam as the culprit. This foam is used in Philips’ CPAP and other ventilation machines to reduce sound and vibration. The problem is that the foam can break down and enter the ventilator’s air pathway. The user then can inhale “black debris” and other chemical particles, which the FDA warned “can result in serious injury, which can be life-threatening, cause permanent impairment, and require medical intervention to prevent permanent damage.”

Several cancers are believed to be caused by inhaling gases emitted from polyurethane foam, including:

  • lung cancer
  • brain cancer
  • multiple myeloma
  • prostate cancer
  • bladder cancer
  • testicular cancer
  • papillary thyroid carcinoma
  • other thyroid cancer
  • leukemia
  • breast cancer
  • non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
  • liver cancer
  • nasal cancer
  • blood cancer
  • lymphatic cancer
  • stomach cancer
  • kidney cancer
  • spleen cancer
  • rectal cancer

Indeed, long-term exposure to the chemicals in PE-PUR foam can increase the risk of a person developing cancer. As a result, the FDA issued a Class I recall in July 2021. This is the most serious type of recall and is limited to situations where “there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”

Other injuries have also been associated with polyurethane foam off-gassing such as—

  • asthma
  • pulmonary edema
  • pulmonary fibrosis
  • hyper- or hypothyroid disease
  • liver disease/damage
  • kidney disease/damage

The Philips recall covers the following products:

CPAP and BiPAP Devices

  • Continuous Ventilator, Minimum Ventilatory Support, Facility Use
    • E30
  • Continuous Ventilator, Non-life Supporting
    • DreamStation ASV
    • DreamStation ST, AVAPS
    • SystemOne ASV4
    • C-Series ASV
    • C-Series S/T and AVAPS
    • OmniLab Advanced+
  • Noncontinuous Ventilator
    • SystemOne (Q-Series)
    • DreamStation
    • DreamStation Go
    • Dorma 400
    • Dorma 500
    • REMstar SE Auto

Ventilators

  • Continuous Ventilator
    • Trilogy 100
    • Trilogy 200
    • Garbin Plus, Aeris, LifeVent
  • Continuous Ventilator, Minimum Ventilatory Support, Facility Use
    • A-Series BiPAP Hybrid A30 (not marketed in US)
    • A-Series BiPAP V30 Auto
  • Continuous Ventilator, Non-life Supporting
    • A-Series BiPAP A40
    • A-Series BiPAP A30

If you or a family member are currently using one of the devices listed above, you should speak with your healthcare provider immediately about the possibility of obtaining a new device.

If you or a loved one have used any of the recalled machines for 6 months or more and have been diagnosed with a cancer or other injury listed above, you should contact an experienced Tennessee defective medical device lawyer as soon as possible to discuss your legal options.

Here at Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette, we can begin an immediate review of your case and advise you of what steps to take next. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with a member of our team.

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