Philips pays $1 billion settlement for U.S. damages from recalled sleep apnea devices
Philips has settled the lawsuits in the United States resulting from its recalled DreamStation sleep apnea devices. The healthcare tech company announced on Monday that it will pay the sleep apnea patients 1.1 billion dollars in damages without admitting fault.
The amount is significantly lower than financial experts expected, Financieele Dagblad reports. ING analyst Marc Hesselink had previously predicted an amount of 3 billion dollars to settle the claims of approximately 60,000 American users of its recalled DreamStation sleep apnea devices.
In the settlement, Philips does not admit liability for any injuries caused by its devices, which are currently not sold in the United States following an agreement with the FDA.
In 2021, Philips recalled some 5.5 million of the first-generation DreamStation devices after discovering that the sound-dampening foam in the machines could crumble and enter users’ airways if they used the wrong cleaning agent on the device. It was one of the largest recalls ever for medical devices worldwide and has cost Philips hundreds of millions of euros even without this settlement. The company is also still under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, which could result in a hefty fine.
Philips also recalled thousands of ventilators in that same year and recently announced problems affecting yet another breathing device. Early this month, the Dutch company reported that an error in the Trilogy ventilators used by hospitals can cause the empty battery/power failure alarm to go off without cause, stopping ventilation.
