CPAP Machine Recall, Injuries, Lawsuits

There are as many as four million machines affected by the CPAP recall. The Philips CEO has stated that it may take a year or longer to fully repair or replace the affected machines. When he says repair he’s talking about replacing that problematic foam or replacing the entire machine for a brand new machine, so it’s going to take a while. And that’s one of the problems that a lot of the people that are calling my office are saying, and that is, that they use this machine to sleep and some of them are worried that they will have to use the recalled machine to sleep. So they’re in a tough position.  Again, I’m not a doctor and I don’t give medical advice, but I would say if you can find a replacement machine quickly, set aside your recalled CPAP machine and don’t use it and beyond that, you just have to talk to your doctor about what’s going on and what you should do next.

Potential Injuries from the Recalled CPAP Machines

What are the potential injuries from the recalled CPAP machines? These injuries would include somewhat modest problems like irritation to the eyes or skin, a cough, headache or dizziness. These are not unimportant issues, they can be serious problems, and they run from the gamut from headaches and nausea to sinus infection. More serious injuries include organ damage, asthma and even cancers. The medical community is looking at this aggressively and quickly and trying to figure out all the many problems that can result from inhaling these particulate foam pieces from the CPAP machines or getting exposed to the off-gassing.

The FDA has classified the CPAP recall as Type 1, the most serious one they have, and they’re taking it very seriously. So there is a constellation of symptoms that could result from a breakdown in these CPAP and BiPAP and ventilator machines. Just be very aware of your health and any changes in your health and if you’re feeling a new and suspicious cough or an infection of the sinus, headaches, vomiting,  nausea, anything like that, you need to take it and have a doctor to check you out.

CPAP Lawsuits

As you might imagine lawsuits have begun to be filed around the CPAP recall. Millions of these devices have been used for years by millions of patients. Now they’ve been recalled and and they have caused injuries. They suffered through no fault of their own. This litigation is very new and it’s emerging but a multi-district litigation (MDL) site was established in October 2021, in the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The judge that is going to be overseeing the MDL for the CPAP device is Judge Conti. If you think you have a case, you can certainly call me (919.546.8788) and we can discuss further.

What Should You Do Next?

If you believe you may have a recalled CPAP machine and you have injuries that are flowing from this defective machine, you should not discard the machine. Don’t throw it away and don’t send it back to Philips. Hold on to it. I would encourage you to get a replacement machine if you need one to sleep with, but in any event, the existing machine that is subject to recall, you need to keep all of it and that includes the hoses, pieces and accessories. You want to keep it all because it may end up being evidence in your case.

The very next thing that I would do if I were in your position is to contact your doctor, schedule a visit and explain everything. Explain the kind of machine you have and that it has been recalled, that you are aware of at least two ways for the recalled machine to have caused injury and that you want to be checked out. The third thing I would do is to take inventory, take stock of what’s happened to you in the last few months, the last few years, whether there’s been a new onset of symptoms that you didn’t recognize but you just kind of wrote off because you know, you just thought it was the normal process of aging. I would also write down every detail you can think of that might help your case down the road, which includes when you started using the device, when you stopped using the device, how many nights a week you used it, how many hours per night. You can even note the pressure settings. If you know that how the device was cleaned, how you cleaned the device, and the products used to clean the device. Any time you keep kind of a journal of the basic facts of any case, it’s going to help out your attorney, it’s going to help out your case and it’s going to be useful for you down the road. These facts can be lost to memory and time if you don’t stay on top of it.

So that’s where we are at the moment in this defective product area. The MDL site has been created in Pennsylvania. Dozens of cases are already filed. There are going to be thousands of cases filed in the next year. If you are a user of the Philips CPAP, BiPAP or any ventilator machine that was subject to recall, and you also have symptoms, you need to be well aware of it and keep checking this site as I try to keep people up-to-date. Call me if you want to discuss your case further. But either way, good luck and good health