HUNTINGTON — A lawsuit against Philips North America has been transferred to federal court in Pennsylvania as part of the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.
"On October 8, 2021, the Panel transferred 10 civil action(s) to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings..." the conditional transfer order states. "Since that time, no additional action(s) have been transferred to the Western District of Pennsylvania. With the consent of that court, all such actions have been assigned to the Honorable Joy Flowers Conti."
The transfer order states that the actions appear to involve questions of fact that are common to the actions that had been previously transferred to the Pennsylvania federal court and assigned to Conti.
Curtis Parker filed the lawsuit against Koninklijke Philips N.V., Philips North America LLC, Philips Holdings USA Inc. and Philips RS North America LLC alleging that he was injured by the DreamStation Auto CPAP-BiPAP Device that was manufactured and sold by the defendants.
On June 14, 2021, Philips announced a recall on the machines because they suffered a defect that could result in serious injury, permanent impairment and could even be life-threatening.
"According to Philips, this PE-PUR foam can deteriorate over time, causing it to break down," the complaint states. "When the foam breaks down, small foam particles and gases can be inhaled or ingested through the use of the devices which assist patients with respiration. The foam may emit volatile organic compounds, which when inhaled, can result in serious adverse health effects, including cancer."
Parker has been using the CPAP machine since 2017 every night as prescribed and in 2021 he was diagnosed with sarcoidosis.
The plaintiff has had to undergo significant treatment, will be required to undergo significant treatment in the future, and now requires constant and continuous medical monitoring and treatment due to the defective nature of the subject device and/or the defendants’ wrongful conduct, according to the suit.
Parker is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. He is represented by James C. Peterson of Hill Peterson Carper Bee & Deitzler in Charleston; and W. Troy Bouk of Levin Papantonio Rafferty Proctor Buchanan O'Brien Barr & Mougey in Pensacola, Fla.
U.S. District for the Southern District of West Virginia case number: 3:21-cv-00527