IVC Filter Lawsuit Claims Allege That The Devices Are Prone To Tilt, Break, Migrate, Puncture The Vena Cava And Fail To Capture Blood Clots Which Can Lead To Serious Injuries And Death.
IVC Filter Lawsuit News: The failure rate of inferior vena cava (IVC) filters increases when the device remains in a patient longer than eight weeks, a study on IVC filters has found. IVC filter lawsuit claims currently awaiting litigation Cook Medical and C.R. Bard allege that their IVC filters, used to prevent blood clots, tend to break, tilt or puncture a patient’s heart or lungs. IVC lawsuits also contend that Cook Medical and C.R. Bard failed to warn doctors and their patients about these life-threatening risks.
The study used decision analysis to weigh how IVC filters function depending on how long they remain in a patient. According to researchers, the IVC filters should be removed between 29 and 54 days after they are implanted and the risk of a pulmonary embolism has passed. The risk for adverse events increases when the filters remain in place on a long-term basis, according to the study published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery in October 2013.
[fda.gov/downloads/MedicalDevices/Safety/AlertsandNotices/UCM396384.pdf, October 2013]
“The study supports IVC filter lawsuits claims that patients suffer serious injuries and even death when the IVC filter fails after remaining in the patients over a certain period of time,” says Dr. François Blaudeau, founder of Southern Med Law.
Retrievable IVC filters are small devices implanted into the inferior vena cava, a major blood vessel that returns blood from the lower part of the body to the heart. The IVC filter has struts, or spider-like prongs, that capture blood clots to prevent them from causing a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs), which can cause death. IVC filters are used by patients at risk for a pulmonary embolism. [fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/AlertsandNotices/ucm221676., FDA, August 9, 2010]
In May 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated a 2010 warning about IVC filters and advised doctors to remove the devices as soon as the pulmonary embolism threat is passed. According to the FDA, adverse events involving IVC filters may be related to how long the device has been implanted. Since 2005, the FDA has received 921 adverse event reports about IVC filters migrating from their original position, fracturing and puncturing the inferior vena cava, being difficult to retrieve, and other complications.
[fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/AlertsandNotices/ucm396377.htm, October 6, 2014]
An IVC filter lawsuit involving a Missouri man whose device remained in him for six years before he died was filed in the recently created multidistrict litigation for C.R. Bard IVC complaints. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Missouri woman whose husband died in September 2012 allegedly as a result of a defective Bard G2 filter. According to the complaint, the man received the IVC implant in November 2006 and the filter subsequently tilted, perforated his vena cava, and did not prevent blood clots from reaching his heart and lungs. The man died from a blood clot, according to the complaint. (Case No. 2:15-cv-02091)
Southern Med Law is currently investigating Cook Medical and Bard IVC filter lawsuit claims, including perforation of the vena cava, heart, lung or other organs, and death. If you or your loved one have experienced IVC filter injuries, contact the firm for a free legal evaluation by calling (205) 547-5525 or visit southernmedlaw.com to fill out a contact form.
About Southern Med Law And Filing a Cook IVC Filter Lawsuit: Throughout his career, Dr. Blaudeau has worked hard to develop a strong reputation in healthcare litigation. His first-hand knowledge of medicine has made the Southern Med Law team an aggressive and effective advocate for those who were harmed due to negligent medical device manufacturers. If you or a loved one were injured by a Bard retrievable IVC filter, please contact Southern Med Law today to learn more about your legal rights. Call today for a free, no obligation Bard IVC filter lawsuit review by filling out our online form, or by calling the office directly at 205-547-5525.
Southern Med Law
François M. Blaudeau, MD JD FACHE FCLM Esquire
2224 1st Avenue North
Birmingham, Alabama 35203
Phone: 205-547-5525
Fax: 205-547-5526
francois@sml-legal.i-mlaw.com
Medical Negligence/MedicalDevice/Pharma/Qui Tam
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