Philips Settles CPAP Recall Lawsuits For At Least $479 Million

Philips will pay at least $479 million to settle class action claims from individuals and entities that used or paid for nearly 11 million CPAPs, BiPAPs and ventilators recalled by the company in June 2021.

The proposed settlement, which awaits preliminary approval from the court, will resolve certain claims of users and health insurers who paid in full or in part for CPAP, BiPAP and ventilator devices equipped with sound-insulating polyester polyurethane foam that could pose a serious health risk.

The putative settlement, which attorneys submitted to the court on September 7, aims to provide extended warranties for replacement Philips devices, cash payments for people who bought the recalled machines, additional cash payments for those who return them to Philips and reimbursement for some customers who purchased comparable replacement devices after the recall. Notably, the settlement covers only consumers’ and health insurers’ claims for economic harm and not any personal injury and medical monitoring claims (i.e., claims that users may be at risk of future illness and require certain medical testing), which court records state are “expressly excluded” from the deal.

Read on to learn more about the Philips CPAP settlement, including which devices are covered, how much you could get, how to file a claim and more.

Who’s covered by the Philips CPAP settlement?

The proposed settlement covers all individuals or entities in the United States and its territories who bought, leased, rented, paid for (in whole or in part), or were prescribed a recalled Philips CPAP, BiPAP or ventilator device. The deal also proposes to cover those who reimbursed, in whole or in part, a user’s payment to buy, lease, rent or otherwise pay for a recalled device, including insurers, self-funded employers and other third-party payers.

Which recalled Philips devices are covered by the settlement?

The deal aims to cover the following recalled CPAP, BiPAP and ventilator devices:

What does the Philips CPAP settlement provide?

According to a brief in support of the proposed deal, all users who paid, even partially, for a recalled Philips CPAP, BiPAP or ventilator device and did not receive their full payment back pursuant to a warranty before the recall was announced will be eligible for a device payment award of anywhere from $55.63 to $1,552.25 per recalled device, as stated in the following table from the settlement agreement:

Users who return or have returned a recalled device to Philips will also be eligible to receive a $100 device return award for each CPAP, BiPAP or ventilator. Prepaid return labels will be available on the official settlement website for anyone who has not yet returned their device as part of a recall program.

Court documents emphasize that these cash payments “will not be reduced, regardless of how many claims are filed” and that Philips will replenish the settlement fund as necessary.

The proposed settlement also provides for a device replacement award for users who paid out of pocket for a comparable replacement CPAP, BiPAP or ventilator device on or after June 14, 2021 and prior to September 7, 2023 without having received or prior to receiving a remanufactured device as part of a recall program. The amount of the device replacement award will be based on how much a user actually paid for the replacement device, the value of the replacement device, and the total valid claims submitted for device replacement awards. Users who receive a device replacement award will not be eligible for the $100 device return award in most circumstances but will be required to send back their recalled Philips device (if they still have it) and any remanufactured device they received.

Additionally, the settlement provides two-year extended warranties to users who receive or already received a remanufactured device from Philips through its recall programs.

Lastly, a fixed amount of $34 million will be made available to health insurers and other “payers” through the settlement.

Settlement documents highlight that attorneys’ fees, notice and administration costs, and named plaintiff awards will be paid by Philips separately, meaning the funds will not come from the pool of money made available to class members.

How do I get money from the settlement?

Class members who enroll their devices in the settlement, or register them with Philips’ recall programs, and return their machine on time will automatically receive a device payment award and device return award for each returned machine without having to fill out and submit a claim form.

To enroll a device that has not already been registered in a recall program, users will be able to visit the official settlement website, RespironicsCPAP-ELSettlement.com, and provide the device’s serial number, their contact information and their requested form of payment.

Class members who have already registered their device but cannot or decide not to return it to Philips can still receive a device payment award by completing a confirmation process on the settlement website.

All other users, including those who want to claim a device replacement award, must timely submit a claim form on the official settlement website or by mail once the claims period opens in order to receive payment from the settlement.

When will I get money from the settlement?

According to legal publication Law360, Philips said payments from the settlement, if and when it is approved by the court, could begin to be distributed as early as the first quarter of next year.

A key aspect of the proposed deal is what attorneys call the “accelerated implementation option,” which allows eligible class members who return their recalled device before the settlement becomes final to receive their payment on an accelerated basis. Those who register for this option on the settlement website will be paid before any potential appeals of the court’s final approval have been decided, and regardless of the outcome of those appeals.

Generally, a proposed settlement must first receive preliminary approval from the court before moving on to the final approval stage, the last hurdle before consumers can receive compensation. Money from a settlement is typically distributed after a settlement has received final approval and any appeals are resolved.

Will I receive a notice about the settlement?

Court documents state that the settlement administrator will send notice of the settlement by mail and email within 60 days of when the deal receives preliminary approval from the court. If and when that happens, ClassAction.org will update this page.

Keep an eye out for this notice as it will likely contain a unique claim ID that will help facilitate the submission of claims for compensation and help users monitor the status of their claims.

If you want to receive updates about the settlement, you can sign up with your email address here.

How did we get here?

On June 14, 2021, Philips RS announced that it was recalling roughly 10.8 million CPAP, BiPAP and ventilator devices due to potential health risks linked to the machines’ sound-dampening polyester-based polyurethane foam. In particular, the foam could break down into particles and enter the devices’ air pathways before then being inhaled by the user, Philips warned.

From there, a bevy of lawsuits were filed nationwide, and less than four months later, multidistrict litigation (MDL) was established to coordinate all pending federal lawsuits filed over the Philips CPAP recall, specifically to save time and money and ensure similar outcomes given the number of people involved in the litigation.

Court documents state that the litigation survived five dismissal attempts by Philips, and the parties entered court-appointed mediation in May 2022, a process that lasted roughly 13 months. The parties ultimately executed a settlement agreement on September 7, 2023.

Do you own a CPAP, BiPAP or ventilator recalled by Philips? Let us know here.