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On April 25, 2024, Judge Joy Flowers Conti of the Western District of Pennsylvania granted final approval to the economic loss class action settlement negotiated by Seeger Weiss partner Chris Seeger and his fellow co-lead plaintiffs’ counsel in the Philips Recalled CPAP, Bi-Level Pap, and Mechanical Ventilator Products Litigation. The uncapped settlement provides more than $500 million to plaintiffs who purchased defective Philips CPAP, Bi-PAP, and ventilator devices.
In June 2021, Philips initiated a recall of more than 10.8 million CPAP, Bi-PAP, and mechanical ventilator assisted breathing machines after it was determined that sound-reducing foam in these devices could degrade and release toxic chemicals. Seeger Weiss was one of the first law firms to file a lawsuit against Philips regarding the disintegration and outgassing of sound-reducing foam in the recalled devices. The firm has since filed more than a dozen cases while representing thousands of people seeking to hold Philips accountable.
This settlement resolves the economic loss claims of those who purchased CPAP machines recalled by Philips, but excluded personal injury and medical monitoring claims, which are being litigated separately. About 3 million class members have registered for benefits, and 1.6 million have returned their devices for payment. The Seeger Weiss team, led by Chris Seeger, who was appointed to lead the litigation by Judge Joy Flowers Conti, and supported by attorneys David Buchanan, Shauna Itri, Caleb Seeley, Humaira Safdar, and Fraz Thomas, were key players in negotiating this uncapped settlement.
In an interview with Law.com, Seeger said, “The high participation rate was very compelling, the compensation was extremely fair, and the claims process was streamlined and easy.” He praised the final approval, stating, “This settlement is state of the art, and all those factors led to the approval of the court.”
In a joint statement, Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel stated, “We are pleased Judge Conti granted final approval to the economic loss class action settlement, which has received overwhelming support from the more than five million individuals who purchased, leased, or rented recalled Philips devices. This agreement provides expedient payments and extended warranties on remanufactured machines to class members and holds Philips accountable for selling defective and unsafe products. We will continue to pursue justice on behalf of those injured by Philips’ defective products.”
One of the nation’s preeminent plaintiffs’ law firms, Seeger Weiss is best known for multidistrict mass torts and class actions in both state and federal court—and especially for taking those cases to trial. With the resources and dedication to take on the world’s largest corporations, the firm has an impressive track record of victories against companies like Merck, Monsanto, and 3M—and a reputation for sticking with a case from beginning to end. From offices in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, the firm has represented over 10,000 individuals, companies, and governments across the United States who have been injured or defrauded on a massive scale. Since its founding in 1999, it has led many of the most complex and high-profile cases in the country: the National Prescription Opiate Litigation, which the Washington Post called “the largest federal court case in U.S. history”; the ongoing “Dieselgate” scandal; the sprawling multistate litigation on behalf of survivors of child sexual abuse; and the history-making National Football League Players’ Concussion Injury Litigation.
Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future matter.