The defendants in this case—a group of Philips companies, including Koninklijke Philips NV, Philips North America, LLC, and Philips RS North America, LLC—make machines that help people breathe. They include Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) and Bi-Level Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) machines as well as mechanical ventilators. The complaint for this class action alleges that some of the foam used in the machines may be harmful to users of the machines when it degrades.
The Illinois State Class for this action is all persons who were or are citizens of Illinois who bought or used a CPAP, BiPAP, or mechanical ventilator device made by Philips, before April 26, 2021, which was recalled by Philips on June 14, 2021.
Many of the Philips machines make use of polyester-based polyurethane (PE-PUR) foam for sound abatement. In April 2021, Philips disclosed it had found that the PE-PUR foam could off-gas or degrade.
A few months later, it recalled the devices. It cited two problems. First, the foam could degrade and crumble into particles that might then enter the devices’ airways and be ingested by the users. Second, the foam could off-gas certain chemicals while the devices were being used. The complaint quotes the Recall Notice as saying that “these issues can result in serious injury which can be life-threatening, cause permanent impairment, and/or require medical intervention to preclude permanent impairment.”
Philips noted that even devices that show no signs of degradation may not be safe for use. The complaint alleges, “Philips reported that lab analysis of the degraded foam reveals the presence of harmful chemicals,” including toluene diamine, toluene diisocyanate, and diethylene glycol.
Earlier, the company had gotten complaints from users about black debris or particles in the airway and reports of headaches, upper airway irritation, cough, chest pressure, and sinus infections.
The Recall Notice, Philips named some of the risks of users of the machines. The risks for those who had particulate exposure included “irritation (skin, eye, and respiratory tract), inflammatory response, headache, asthma, adverse effects to other organs (e.g., kidneys and liver) and toxic carcinogenic effects.” The risks for those who had chemical exposure through the off-gassing included “headache/dizziness, irritation (eyes, nose, respiratory tract, skin), hypersensitivity, nausea/vomiting, toxic and carcinogenic effects.”
The plaintiff in this case, Kerry Ray, had been using a Philips Respironics BiPAP Pro DOM every night, between June 2014 and February 2021. The complaint asks for damages as well as medical monitoring for those who have been using the Philips devices.
The counts include breaches of warranties and fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation, among other things.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Philips CPAP, BiPAP Device PE-PUR Foam Deterioration Illinois Complaint
October 21, 2021
The defendants in this case—a group of Philips companies, including Koninklijke Philips NV, Philips North America, LLC, and Philips RS North America, LLC—make machines that help people breathe. They include Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) and Bi-Level Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) machines as well as mechanical ventilators. The complaint for this class action alleges that some of the foam used in the machines may be harmful to users of the machines when it degrades.
Philips CPAP, BiPAP Device PE-PUR Foam Deterioration Illinois ComplaintCase Event History
Philips CPAP, BiPAP Device PE-PUR Foam Deterioration Illinois Complaint
October 21, 2021
The defendants in this case—a group of Philips companies, including Koninklijke Philips NV, Philips North America, LLC, and Philips RS North America, LLC—make machines that help people breathe. They include Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) and Bi-Level Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) machines as well as mechanical ventilators. The complaint for this class action alleges that some of the foam used in the machines may be harmful to users of the machines when it degrades.
Philips CPAP, BiPAP Device PE-PUR Foam Deterioration Illinois Complaint