Our lawyers are helping victims file a CPAP lawsuit who have cancer, respiratory complications, or other injuries from their defective CPAP subject to a recall.
A rapidly growing number of CPAP machine lawsuits have been filed since Philips recalled millions of CPAP devices used for sleep apnea after discovering that users were inhaling toxic foam particles. Many more CPAP recall lawsuits have been filed against Philips and have been consolidated into the CPAP class-action MDL.
This post will examines the Philips recall lawsuit and the types of health conditions or injuries potentially linked to the recalled Philips CPAP machines. Our lawyers also
- Estimate expected CPAP settlement amounts
- Review settlements and verdicts in prior CPAP-related lawsuits.
- Provide the latest CPAP litigation updates
Our lawyers last updated this page on September 7, 2023.
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Philips CPAP Recall
Phillips Respironics develops and manufactures positive airway pressure devices to treat obstructive sleep apnea (“OSA”). Our lawyers were surprised with this litigation started how many people have sleep apnea: almost a quarter of the adult population.
When a patient suffers from OSA, the throat muscles relax during sleep so much that the surrounding tissue collapses. This narrows the airway for oxygen. When the patient inhales, the suction of the inhaled breath causes the narrowed airway to close completely. This renders the patient unable to breathe (i.e., the apnea). So a functional CPAP that does not cause other diseases is essential for many Americans.
Philips initiated a significant safety recall in June 2021 for nearly all its Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) and BiLevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) devices. The recall included an estimated 1.5 million devices used to treat sleep apnea, including the very popular DreamStation line of CPAP devices.
Philips launched the recall based on evidence that the PE-PUR sound abatement foam used in the devices was breaking down, causing users to inhale tiny foam particles.
The particles from the foam contained several chemicals that are known to be toxic and carcinogenic. Potential health hazards from inhaling these foam particles could include airway inflammation, kidney, liver, and other organs damage, and lung or respiratory tract cancer.
CPAP Recall Lawsuits
The CPAP safety recall has led to a wave of product liability and consumer class action lawsuits against Philips by users of the recalled devices. The lawsuits allege that Philips was aware of a problem with inhaling foam particles for years. But the company did nothing about it.
Many of the plaintiffs who are now suing Philips claim that inhaling the PE-PUR foam’s chemical particles caused them to develop severe health conditions, including lung and kidney damage.
CPAP Class Action Lawsuit
In response to this growing tide of lawsuits, a new class-action MDL was created in the Western District of Pennsylvania to consolidate all future Philips CPAP lawsuits in federal court. This means there will be a consolidated discovery phase, test trials, and, eventually a global settlement with Philips.
Based on prior global settlements in similar mass torts, our CPAP lawyers think that the likely settlement payout on Philips CPAP claims will be $150,000 to $250,000 for cases in the highest settlement tier and $75,000 to $150,000 for cases in the next tier down. CPAP cases in the lowest tier could have a payout of $10,000 to $75,000.
Below we put these CPAP settlement compensation payout projections in context with the appropriate caveats.
Health Problems Linked to Recalled CPAP Machines
The Philips CPAP machines were recalled because users were inhaling chemical particles in the sound abatement foam as they slept. Many of the chemicals in these foam particles are known to be toxic to the human body, and some have been shown to cause cancer and respiratory complications.
At this stage, however, we don’t know Continue reading
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