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There are advancements in medical technology all the time, but not every new treatment or device is safe. Breg cooling devices were developed to treat injuries using cold therapy, but these devices have badly injured many patients.
Breg cooling devices use cryotherapy or cold therapy to treat various types of injuries. Unfortunately, these devices are very dangerous even when used correctly. People have experienced severe skin irritation and burns, soft tissue damage, nerve damage, and even frostbite. Part of what makes these devices so dangerous is the lack of medical supervision or warnings from the company behind them. If injured, you can claim damages related to medical costs, lost earnings, pain, suffering, and punitive damages. Evidence to support your claims may mostly come from medical records and reports, but we might also use witness testimony, proof of other costs, and the device itself. If you find yourself injured by one of these devices, call a doctor right away, then call a lawyer.
If your cold therapy treatment went awry, call our attorneys for injuries related to Breg cooling devices at The Queenan Law Firm, P.C. at (817) 476-1797 to set up a free review of your claims.
What is a Breg Cooling Device and What is it Used For?
Breg is a company that produces cold therapy devices for medical patients with various injuries, although these devices are perhaps most commonly used for orthopedic injuries. Breg cooling devices have been used by patients who experience sports injuries or are recovering from surgery. Numerous types of cooling devices produced by Breg work in a few different ways.
Many Breg cooling devices look kind of like small drink coolers you might see on the beach. In a way, they work similarly to a cooler. First, the patient can fill the device with cold water and ice. Next, the patient may attach a cuff to the affected body part. The cuff often resembles a brace or compression garment common in physical therapy. The cuff is connected to the cooling device via a hose attachment, and the ice-cold water is pumped through the hose and cuff, delivering a cooling sensation for hours on end.
The idea is that the cooling device acts sort of like a super cold compress. According to Breg’s website, patients often need a prescription from a doctor to purchase a cooling device. While you need a doctor’s prescription, the patient typically handles cold therapy treatment on their own at home. While the device is meant to be user-friendly and used without supervision, many patients are badly injured anyway.
Possible Injuries From Breg Cooling Devices
Injuries from Breg cooling devices might range from mild to extreme. Even when following the instructions that come with the device, many people have reported being badly hurt.
A common injury for many users of Breg cooling devices is skin irritations and burns. For some, these injuries might be mild, and their skin might be a bit irritated and in need of topical treatment. For others, their skin might be badly damaged, and ice burns are not unheard of.
You might also experience soft tissue injuries from the extreme cold. Since the cuff goes all the way around the affected body part or limb, the entire limb might be affected. For example, someone with a cuff around their calf might experience tissue damage in their calf.
Many injured victims have reported feelings of going numb and nerve damage. Prolonged exposure to the cold can be very dangerous, even during cold therapy treatments. Breg devices are touted as delivering hours of cold therapy, but many patients report numbness and nerve damage from dangerously long exposures to freezing temperatures.
In some cases, patients’ body parts go completely numb, so they cannot feel the pain from frostbite injuries. Frostbite is a severe cold-related injury that causes skin and underlying tissue to freeze and die. Many people require extensive surgery to treat frostbite. Scarring and disfigurement are common. Others might lose body parts or limbs to frostbite.
What Makes Breg Cooling Devices Dangerous?
While Breg cooling devices are purported to help injured patients through cold therapy, it is not without risks. One big reason these devices are so dangerous is that the temperatures the device is capable of are extremely low. Many patients have experienced frostbite or similar injuries from using these devices for long periods of time. Breg devices are advertised as being like a cold compress or ice pack, but this is not entirely true. Ice packs do not cause frostbite or tissue damage from subzero temperatures.
Another extremely dangerous aspect of Breg cooling devices is that patients take a do-it-yourself approach. The treatments from these devices are not often administered by doctors in hospitals. Instead, patients may obtain prescriptions for these devices and use them at home on their own. This lack of supervision is a major reason for many injuries. Injured patients are not medical professionals, and there is a serious risk of user error when Breg cooling devices are used by patients unsupervised.
Finally, Breg cooling devices are dangerous because patients are often not adequately warned or advised by the company behind the device. As said before, patients are not medical professionals, and the risk for errors is high. Not only are patients often unsupervised, but this lack of supervision is often encouraged by Breg. Using the device at home on your own time seems to be a selling point, not a warning. Our lawyers for injuries related to Breg cooling devices can help you determine if the defendant misled you.
Many Breg cooling devices are advertised as providing cooling sensations for hours at a time. However, such long periods of freezing temperatures can cause serious injuries. While patients should be monitoring their condition while using the device, many say this is not always made clear.
Possible Damages in a Lawsuit for Injuries Related to Breg Cooling Devices
Damages in injury cases related to Breg cooling devices can be quite considerable. Compensatory damages include monetary losses and damages for psychological distress or suffering. In some cases, you might be able to claim punitive damages, although these damages tend to be less common.
Monetary Losses
Considering that injuries from Breg cooling devices are known to be severe, it makes sense that you might encounter very expensive medical bills. Severe injuries related to frostbite and skin injuries might require extensive surgery, painful grafts, and multiple rounds of medications. Treatment might be long-term, and you might be on a very long road to recovery. It is no surprise that medical costs are likely to be extremely high.
You might also have to take extensive time away from work. If your employer does not cover this time away, you may lose a lot of income. In some cases, people cannot return to their jobs due to the nature of their injuries. In that case, you can sue for lost future earnings, too.
Emotional Distress
The pain and suffering, both mental and physical, associated with your injuries might be great. Considering the aforementioned injuries and potential medical procedures, it is clear that injuries from Breg cooling devices can be severely painful. For some, this pain endures for a long time. You deserve fair compensation for all the pain you endure. This pain might change how you live, and compensation should reflect this.
You might suffer emotionally or psychologically also. If your injuries are long-term or permanent, you have to mentally come to terms with how your body has changed. Perhaps you have significant scarring. Maybe you lost limbs or large portions of limbs. These changes last forever, and you might feel your entire life was changed. The emotional fallout can be severe, and you deserve fair compensation.
Exemplary Damages
Although less typical than compensatory damages, exemplary damages might be available in your case. Exemplary damages, sometimes called punitive damages, are not intended to compensate plaintiffs for anything they lost or endured. Instead, these damages serve as a harsh financial punishment for defendants. The purpose of exemplary damages is to punish defendants for their outrageous actions and deter similar actions in the future.
Obtaining exemplary damages is difficult, and the legal bar is very high. We must show by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant caused your injuries by fraud, malice, or gross negligence. Our legal strategy may vary based on how you were injured. If you believe the defendant fraudulently advertised the Breg cooling device or provided misleading information about using it, we might argue fraud.
Malice involves some sort of ill will or an intent to cause harm. This might not be a feasible strategy in a product liability case, but you should still talk to your attorney about it. Gross negligence is far worse than ordinary negligence. Gross negligence may involve objectively dangerous acts in light of obvious and extreme risks to others. Selling inherently dangerous devices to unsuspecting medical patients and leading them to believe they can safely use the device unsupervised by a doctor might be considered gross negligence.
You may only recover punitive damages if you are also awarded compensatory damages other than nominal damages. Exemplary damages are not unlimited. According to Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.008, exemplary damages may not exceed twice the value of economic damages plus one of two amounts. The first amount is equal to non-economic damages up to $750,000. The second amount is $200,000. How your exemplary damages turn out is up to the jury.
Evidence to Support Your Injury Claims Involving Breg Cooling Devices
Proving your damages is no small feat. We need as much evidence as possible to support your claims in a court of law. Below are some but not all possible sources of evidence our attorneys for injuries related to Breg cooling devices can look into for your case.
Medical Records
Your injuries might be severe, and you probably underwent extensive medical treatment. Your hospital records will be of paramount importance to your case. While we might be able to actually show the jury your injuries in court, medical records have a way of explaining them more in-depth.
We can also have a medical expert review your records and help explain them. A medical expert may also compare your injuries to how the Breg cooling device was used and offer their opinion on whether it caused the injuries.
Since medical records are so important to your case, it is crucial that you visit the doctor immediately after being injured and that you regularly follow up with your doctor. Doing so will help ensure your records are as accurate and detailed as possible.
Evidence of Costs and Expenses
We might also need evidence of various other costs and expenses. Perhaps you had to travel to a specialist physician for treatment. Records of travel expenses, like receipts and booking records, can be entered as evidence. If you lost a significant amount of income, records from your employer about your salary and how much time you missed from work should be used as evidence. If you incur any expenses related to your injuries, keep thorough records. Even retaining receipts may be important.
The Cooling Device
We need the one piece of evidence at the very heart of your case: the Breg cooling device. The device is what injured you, and we need to show it to a jury. First, we need to show the jury the device so they can see how it works and what your goal of cold therapy treatment was. Second, we can have the device reviewed by doctors or experts familiar with cold therapy, cryotherapy, or other medical technology. It is possible the experts might say the device is too dangerous to use without medical supervision.
Call Our Attorneys for Injuries Related to Breg Cooling Devices Now
Call our lawyers for injuries related to Breg cooling devices at The Queenan Law Firm, P.C. at (817) 476-1797 to set up a free review of your claims if your cooling device hurt you somehow.