Lawsuit: Man claims now-recalled CPAP sleep apnea machine gave him cancer
The Royal Philips Electronics NV logo is seen in Aachen, Germany, on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010. Royal Philips Electronics NV said it will drop the practice of setting fixed revenue and profit growth targets in favor of linking its objectives to the sta
JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. - A Kansas man is suing a manufacturer, claiming its now-recalled CPAP sleep apnea machine gave him lung cancer.
Robert Dix filed a lawsuit against Philips Respironics in U.S. District Court of Kansas in late April.
In court documents obtained by FOX Television Stations, Dix was prescribed and bought a machine in March 2016 to help with his sleep apnea, using the machine as instructed.
However, Dix claimed after years of using the machine, he "suffered personal injuries including harm to his respiratory system, cellular damage, DNA damage, and lung cancer."
RELATED: Sleep apnea devices recalled over cancer risk concerns
The lawsuit states Dix was diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2019 and had to undergo treatments such as a lobectomy— surgical removal of a lobe from the lung— and will have continued monitoring due to the "defective" machine.
In June 2021, certain Philips Respironics ventilators, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) machines had been recalled over concerns that a foam component could disintegrate and be inhaled by the user, possibly causing health issues including toxic and carcinogenic effects.
"This particular foam may break down and can result in serious injury, which can be life-threatening, cause permanent impairment and/or require medical intervention to prevent permanent injury to users," the FDA said in its 2021 notice.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to review the machines involved in the recall.
Dix is suing for liability, negligence and fraud, according to court documents.
FOX Television Stations has reached out to Philips for comment.
FOX Business contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.