Hundreds of injuries and dozens of death occur in medical malpractices due to faulty IVC filters. The inferior vena cava is a spider-like, small device that is implanted into the major vein of the patient body. This device prevents the blood clotting in the lower body to stop them reaching the lungs and heart. It can be fatal if this happens. But in many cases, an IVC filter itself become deadly when its fragments break off, go through the veins and punctures it and other organs.
In U.S, a quarter of million patients get IVC filter implanted each year. The reason is that the blood thinning medication like anticoagulant is taken by most of the patients who have a risk of thromboembolism, but for some patients, this drug is beyond their reach so they go for the IVC filter. Though, for them, this device can’t stop the formation of blood clotting it just prevent the blood clot to reach and block the pulmonary artery.
Complaints Using IVC Filters
The use of this filter device was questioned due to the complications of the device highly reported. The FDA had nearly 1000 adverse reports in 2005-2010 which involved IVC filters. The common complaints that were reported are:
- Device migration (328 reports)
- Detachment of the components (146 reports)
- Filter punctured vein/organ (70 reports)
- Filter fracture (56 reports)
Many new models of IVC filters were designed to remove them after the medical clearance of the patient. But there are some complications with the removal of the device. A research study was published in the JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) that observed the 952 patients with the device. Because of the following reasons, the device retrieval of about 2% failed
- Filter was implanted in the IVC
- Filter protruding through artery
- Abnormal position of the filter
- Clotting of blood inside the IVC filter
Filter’s Manufacturers Target of Most Lawsuits
Among hundreds of lawsuits regarding IVC filters that are filed nationwide, the majority of them are against the IVC filter manufacturers C.R. Bard and Cook Medical. Below are the names of their devices named in the lawsuits:
- Cook Celect
- Cook Günther Tulip
- Bard Recovery
- Bard G2 Express
- Bard G2
Negligence of Bard regarding the faulty IVC filters was reported in the investigation of NBC News. According to them, most of the deaths and non-fatal complications are due to the G2 filters and Bard Recovery. They further said that despite of knowing about the problem with filter devices, he pushed them into the market and continued selling faulty Recovery and G2 filters. Instead his company hid the issue, putting hundreds of patients at the high risk of possible fatal injuries.
How Our Firm Will help You?
Compensations provide for losses by the lawsuit include:
- Medical expenses
- impaired earning ability
- Suffering and Pain
- Emotional anguish
- Disfigurement/impairment/disability
- unable to spend a normal life
- Loss of services, society, and support (wrongful death cases)
Lawsuit Eligibility
The eligibility for the IVC filter lawsuit is if:
- Patient was embedded with the IVC filter
- The filter broke or migrated
- Filter did not perform as intended
- The faulty filter caused injury and losses related to injury
