Cold Therapy Injuries

Cold therapy is a healthcare device which delivers to injured parts of the body ice-cold temperatures. The equipment entails a cooler insulated, which is usually filled with ice.

The machine pumps, as the ice melts, into a hose the freezing-cold water attached to the compression pad, specifically designed for a tight fit around body parts sustaining injuries.

Essentially, cold therapy machines are marketed to individuals with sports-related injuries, who have undergone recent orthopedic surgery in the shoulder, arm, leg, knee, foot, or ankle.

Manufacturers insist that cold therapy devices are more effective than ice-packs for minimizing inflammation, pain, and swelling.

They insist cold therapy machines can boost healing.

The problem with machines of cold therapy, however, is the application of freezing-cold temperatures to body parts injured for ample hours.

Basically, they not only lack appropriate instructions about duration of time and proper temperature, but result in many cold therapy injuries.

The compression pad, furthermore, is designed to limit flow of blood to deadened nerves and injured body parts.

Body parts injured may have nerve damage already. Due to nerve desensitization, unfortunately, patients may neglect, when it becomes too cold, to remove the compression pad.

Even above freezing temperatures, cold therapy injuries can occur. Cold therapy machines, basically, do not have automatic shut-off switches or alarms to safeguard a patient when the machine becomes too cold, or is used for an extended duration.

Attorneys become concerned that these devices haven’t been recalled; warnings have yet to be bolstered as well.

Cold therapy lawsuits could be recompensed for the following: medical expenses (previous and subsequent); suffering and pain; loss of employment or income; disability or permanent disfigurement; and, against the manufacturer, punitive damages.

Much of the equipment being produced currently for the goal of offering cold therapy are quite hazardous during improper use, or for long durations of time.

The most typical causes of these injuries during the use of the machines entail the following:

A neglect to warn patients of risks. A prescribing physician may neglect to inform a patient on vest to use the machine, or be unclear on the duration of the device being used.

The manufacturer, additionally, may not issue instructions or warnings that warn the individual properly before use. 


A number of the cold therapy machines which are used do not have any features for automatic shut off, which could result in the device becoming too cold.

Including any of these features would result in the machines becoming much safer for the consumers in the marketplace.

The cold therapy device, on occasion, may result in harm if device malfunction is the cause for the device to cool much too quickly, or if temperatures became too extreme.

If you have sustained injuries caused by using the cold therapy machine, then you may be entitled to recover damages if it is deemed that the design of the machine or actions of your physician contributed to your cold therapy injuries.

Contact us for a free consultation or call Anzalone Law Firm PLLC, at: 603.548.3797.