Bloomberg Alleges Phillips Knew Of The Health Hazards From Sound Abatement Foam Years Before The CPAP Recall

The manufacturer of sleep apnea devices failed to warn customers for three years after first discovering their machine was defectively designed

Tuesday, June 14, 2022 - Phillips Respironics has recalled more than one million sleep apnea machines due to the sound abatement foam degrading and leaching particles, gasses, and chemicals into the breathing apparatus. These particles have been tested to be carcinogenic. Bloomberg reports that emails reveal that executives at Phillips knew long before being forced to recall the devices by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), that the sound abatement foam would degrade and get sucked into the device's airway passage. Bloomberg writes, "Koninklijke Philips NA knew about problems with noise-dampening foam inside some ventilators used for treating sleep apnea at least three years before issuing a US safety recall for the devices, newly unsealed court files show. " Such incriminating evidence against Phillips could bolster the hundreds of CPAP cancer lawsuits that have been filed by those who have developed cancer and other lung ailments after using the machine regularly. Plaintiffs allege that the Phillips brand of sleep apnea machines are defectively designed by making a connection between the sound abatement foam, even in its pristine state, and the device's forced-air system leading directly into the consumer's entire respiratory system. "Regulators found "sufficient evidence for FDA to determine there are reasonable grounds to believe the recalled devices that Philips manufactured after November 2015 were not properly manufactured with reference to the state of the art as it existed at the time," the agency said in the letter," Bloomberg reports. The US FDA and Department of Justice (DOJ) are concerned that Phillips has failed to live up to their promise to fix or replace the machines sold in the US and are not taking the Phillips CPAP recall order seriously. The DOJ has subpoenaed Phillips to provide information regarding the company's performance in light of the recall order in preparation for a formal investigation.

Inhaling a foreign substance is a fear that users of sleep apnea machines will have to face for the remainder of their lives. They will worry that the air that their sleep apnea device is forcing them to breathe for hours on end could be tainted with carcinogens from disintegrating polyurethane that may lead to lung cancer, a most dreaded disease. Doctors and medical supply companies are outraged that the sleep improvement devices they recommended to their patients have turned out to be defective and allegedly the cause of a long list of health problems including lung cancer. AboutLawsuits.com(AL) just reported that a Florida man has filed a lawsuit against Phillips that alleges his lung cancer was caused by using the CPAP device. "According to allegations raised in the lung cancer lawsuit, Philips CPAP machines contained unreasonably dangerous and defective PE-PUR foam, which was intended to dampen device vibrations and sound during routine use. However, it has recently been discovered that the CPAP machine foam degrades over time, releasing black particles and fumes directly into the airways of users," AL wrote.

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