Electronics giant Philips has reached a $1.1 billion settlement with patients who claim the company’s sleep apnea machines caused them cancer and other illnesses.
The Dutch company will shell out the money to settle more than 700 lawsuits filed by more than 58,000 Americans who say they are affected.
But the agreement must still be finalized by a federal judge, and sufferers and their families will not receive any compensation until 2025.
He The breathing devices were part of a massive recall in 2021 after they were found to release toxic foam and gases that have been linked to kidney and liver damage, lung infections and cancers.
CPAP masks come in various styles and sizes to accommodate different preferences and facial structures. They consist of a motor that sucks in ambient air and pressurizes it. Pressurized air is supplied through a hose to a mask that fits over the nose, mouth, or both.
The recall affected a range of Philips machines for sleep apnea, a condition characterized by pauses in breathing or choking on air during sleep.
The machine delivers a constant flow of gentle air pressure through a tube connected to a snorkel-like mask to prevent the airway from collapsing.
But they were found to be leaking particles of black foam used to muffle the sound of the machine through the tube that connects to the person’s face. As the foam degraded, it entered the airways, carrying a number of serious health risks, from asthma to head and neck cancer.
The foam in the recalled CPAP machines was made with polyester-based polyurethane, which broke down into smaller particles and toxic gases that the user could inhale.
The massive settlement comes less than a year after a partial $479 million settlement on September 8, 2023 to compensate people for financial damages related to the recall.
An estimated 30 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, but only about 6 million have been diagnosed, while about 5 million Americans have at least tried using a CPAP device, including President Joe Biden.
Philips still does not admit any fault or liability for its apnea devices, including bi-level positive airway pressure (bi-level PAP), continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices, and mechanical ventilation devices, which cost between $500 and $1,650.
Rodney Thomas was just 51 years old when he died of cancer in 2021 after using a Philips sleep apnea machine for several years.
While Philips did not admit to doing anything wrong or negligent, its leaders were optimistic that quickly ending its legal battles would protect its overall cash flow in the short term.
Philips CEO Roy Jakobs said on a company call to discuss early 2024 financial results that they are “very confident that this [settlement] will really put an end to this.
“And that is very important because then, by ending the economic losses, the economic personal injuries and the medical follow-up, we will really have put the vast majority of these cases firmly and clearly behind us, and therefore we will be able to focus on to really manage the business and grow Philips and get it back to where it belongs.”
But many Americans will find it harder to move forward after the 2021 recall that changed their lives.
Rodney and his wife Shawne were married for 32 years and had three children together.
Rodney Thomas was just 51 when he died from aggressive nasopharyngeal cancer, a rare type of head and neck cancer, after using a Philips machine for sleep apnea.
His family did not know that the culprit was the machine he had been using since 2019.
Although they saw black spots on the tubes, Mr. Thomas and his wife Shawne ignored it.
In 2020, Mr. Thomas developed a severe cough and fatigue, as well as a large lump in his throat.
A doctor misdiagnosed him with a bacterial infection and prescribed antibiotics.
But when Mr Thomas’ condition did not improve, he decided to undergo diagnostic imaging and a tumor was revealed.
In January 2021, he was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer. He died just five months later, a few days before Philips’ retirement.
After his death, Mrs. Thomas learned of the recall through an announcement on YouTube. She checked the serial number on her husband’s machine and, to her surprise, it matched the one on the list of affected machines.
She told DailyMail.com: ‘My husband didn’t need to die. This was totally unnecessary. We have lost our world.
Around the same time Thomas died, Louisiana Sheriff Brett Stassi, 62, was rushed to an emergency room after a routine doctor’s visit discovered he had kidney cancer.
Sheriff Brett Stassi, 62, used the Philips DreamStation for four years before undergoing emergency surgery when his doctor discovered he had kidney cancer. Only after the recall did he learn that the black flecks in his CPAP could damage his kidneys and liver.
He had to undergo an urgent procedure to remove his right kidney, according to ProPública.
Mr Stassi, now in remission, said: “You worry about dying in your sleep and discover that the machine could be causing more harm than the apnea.”
Terry Flynn, 63, a St Louis native and father of four, lost his battle with esophageal cancer in 2021, just two weeks after being diagnosed.
Flynn had used his Philips apnea device for nine years. His family can’t know for sure if it was the cause of his fatal cancer, but they still blame the company for not warning the public about the devices sooner.
Terry Flynn of St Louis, Missouri, died of esophageal cancer in 2021, just two weeks after being diagnosed. His family will never know for sure that the Philips machine caused his fatal cancer, but they blame the company for not warning customers sooner.
The agreement will have to be filed in federal court in Pennsylvania before it can become final.
The FDA reported earlier this year that it had received reports of 561 deaths related to the devices among a total of 116,000 complaints.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the lawsuits said Monday: “Ultimately, these combined agreements achieve what we sought to achieve when this litigation began: holding Philips accountable by getting care for those with physical injuries and compensation for those who need new breathing devices.” .
