Electronics giant Philips has reached a $1.1 billion settlement with patients who claim the company’s sleep apnea machines caused their cancers and other diseases.
The Dutch company will spend the money to settle more than 700 lawsuits filed by more than 58,000 Americans who say they were affected.
But the deal has yet to be finalized by a federal judge, and patients and their families won’t see any compensation until 2025.
The Ventilators 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 cancer.
CPAP masks come in different styles and sizes to accommodate different preferences and facial structures. They consist of a motor that draws in and pressurizes room air. The compressed air is delivered through a hose to a mask that is worn 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 gasping for air during sleep.
The machine delivers a steady stream of mild air pressure through a tube connected to a snorkel-like mask to prevent airway collapse.
But it turned out to be particles of black foam that muffled the sound of the machine through the tube that connects to the person’s face. As the foam deteriorated, it entered the respiratory tract, posing a host of serious health risks, from asthma to head and neck cancer.
The foam in the recalled CPAP machines was made of polyester-based polyurethane, which was found to break down into smaller particles and toxic gases that the user could inhale.
The massive settlement comes less than a year after a $479 million partial settlement on September 8, 2023, to compensate people for financial damages related to the recall.
An estimated 30 million Americans have sleep apnea, but only about 6 million have been diagnosed, while about 5 million Americans have at least tried a CPAP machine, including President Joe Biden.
Philips continues to admit no fault or liability for its apnea devices, including Bi-Level Positive Airway Pressure (Bi-Level PAP), Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) and mechanical ventilators, 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 any wrongdoing or negligence, its leaders were optimistic that a quick end to the legal battle would protect its overall cash flow in the short term.
Philips CEO Roy Jakobs said in a company call to discuss financial results in early 2024 that they are “confident that this (settlement) will really put an end to this.”
‘And that’s very important, because now that we’ve put an end to economic losses, economic personal injury and medical monitoring, we have finally and clearly put the vast majority of these cases behind us, and therefore we can focus on actually running of the company and growing Philips and bringing it back to where it belongs.’
But many Americans will have a harder time moving 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 years old when he died of aggressive nasopharyngeal cancer, a rare form of head and neck cancer, after using a Philips sleep apnea machine.
His family did not know that the perpetrator was the machine he had been using since 2019.
Spotting black specks in the hose, Mr. Thomas and his wife Shawne shrugged.
In 2020, Mr. Thomas developed a severe cough and fatigue, as well as a large lump in his throat.
A doctor misdiagnosed a bacterial infection and gave him antibiotics.
But when Mr Thomas’ condition did not improve, he decided to undergo diagnostic imaging, which revealed a tumour.
He was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer in January 2021. He died just five months later, a few days before the Philips recall.
After his death, Ms. Thomas learned of the recall through an advertisement on YouTube. She checked the serial number of her husband’s machine and to her horror it matched the number on the list of affected machines.
She told DailyMail.com: ‘My husband didn’t have to die. This was completely unnecessary. We have lost our world.’
Around the same time that Mr. Thomas died, Louisiana Sheriff Brett Stassi, 62, was rushed into emergency surgery after a routine doctor’s visit revealed 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. It was only after the recall that he discovered that the black dots from his CPAP could damage his kidneys and liver
He had to undergo an emergency procedure to remove his right kidney ProPublica.
Mr Stassi, now in remission, said: ‘You worry about dying in your sleep, and you find out the machine might be doing more damage 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.
Mr Flynn had been using his Philips apnea device for nine years. His family isn’t sure if this 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 led to his fatal cancer, but they blame the company for not warning its customers sooner.
The agreement must be filed in a federal court in Pennsylvania before it can become final.
The FDA said earlier this year that it had received reports of 561 deaths linked to the devices, out of a total of 116,000 complaints.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the lawsuits said Monday: “Ultimately, these combined agreements achieve what we were trying to achieve when this lawsuit began: hold Philips accountable by getting care for those with physical injuries and compensation for those who need new ventilators.”