The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Deon M., a man from Florida who was surgically implanted with the Option™ Retrievable Vena Cava Filter.
The filter was implanted on September 22, 2014 at a hospital in Tallahassee to prevent pulmonary embolism.
On September 29, he suffered a pulmonary embolism despite the presence of the filter. He died on October 6 from respiratory failure and bilateral pulmonary embolism.
Rex Medical and Argon Medical Devices are accused of negligence for selling a defective medical device and failing to warn about risks.
The Option filter was approved with a 510(k) application, which allows new devices on the market without new clinical trials so long as the device is “equivalent” to an approved device.
Unfortunately, the “equivalent” devices include two IVC filters made by C.R. Bard. One is the Recovery filter, which was withdrawn in 2005. The other is the G2, which was linked to a 12% five-year fracture risk. Over 900 lawsuits are pending against Bard by people who were injured.
The lawsuit was filed on October 3, 2016 in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas — Case No. 161000070.
The plaintiff is represented by Ben C. Martin of the Law Offices of Ben C. Martin in Dallas, Texas.
Editor’s note: For more information about IVC Filter lawsuits and your legal rights, please contact The Law Offices of Ben C. Martin.