The lawsuit was filed by Barry T., a man from Ohio who was implanted with the C.R. Bard G2® Vena Cava Filter on November 15, 2007.
The G2 is a blood-clot catching filter that is implanted in the inferior vena cava (IVC) to prevent pulmonary embolisms. It is mostly used in patients who cannot take blood-thinning medications due to an injury or emergency surgery.
The design of the G2 is very similar to the C.R. Bard Recovery® Vena Cava Filter, which was introduced in 2003 and pulled off the market in 2005 without a recall. The G2 was introduced in 2005 and pulled off the market in 2010 with no recall.
In what is now referred to as the “Lehmann Report,” C.R. Bard hired a private consultant, Dr. John Lehmann, to study the risks of the Recovery. In 2004, he linked the Recovery to higher rates of complications than its competitors and recommended urgent investigation into fractures and migrations.
In more recent studies, both the Recovery and G2 have been linked to high rates of fracture and embolization of broken pieces in a patient’s body. In 2012, a study estimated a 40% 5.5-year fracture risk for the Recovery. In 2014, another study estimated a 38% 5-year fracture risk for the G2.
Even more recently, NBC News investigators looked through FDA adverse event reports and found hundreds of injuries and at least 12 deaths associated with the G2. Another 27 deaths were linked to the Recovery.
Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed by people who were injured by these two filters. Lawyers say C.R. Bard knew or should have known they were defective, but failed to issue recalls of warnings about risks.
The lawsuit was filed on December 5, 2016 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona — Case No. 2:16-cv-04229.
It will be centralized with over 1,100 other IVC filter lawsuits now pending against C.R. Bard in Multi-District Litigation (MDL No. 2641)— In Re: Bard IVC Filters Products Liability Litigation.
The plaintiff is represented by Ben C. Martin of The Law Offices of Ben C. Martin in Dallas, Texas. He serves on the plaintiffs’ steering committee of the Bard IVC Filter MDL.
Editor’s note: For more information about IVC Filter lawsuits and your legal rights, please contact The Law Offices of Ben C. Martin.