The woman, Catherine M., was implanted with a temporary IVC filter at St. David Medical Center in Austin, Texas by Dr. Joseph Imsais on January 8, 2010.
She accuses Cook Medical of negligence for selling a defective medical device and failing to warn about serious risks.
Her case has been centralized with more than 650 similar lawsuits against Cook Medical. The lawsuits are part of a Multi-District Litigation (MDL No. 2570) overseen by Judge Richard Young.
The Celect is a retrievable IVC filter that should be removed within 29-54 days after implantation, according to the FDA. The longer it remains implanted, the higher the risk of complications.
In one study of 27 patients who were implanted with the Celect, all of them had some degree of perforation after 71 days. In another study, Celect was linked to a 43% risk of vena cava perforation after an average of two months.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (Indianapolis Division) on August 4, 2016 — Case No. 1:16-CV-2095-RLY-TAB.
She is represented by lawyers Ben C. Martin and Thomas Wm. Arbon of The Law Office of Ben C. Martin in Dallas, Texas.