The lawsuit was filed by Roberta F., a woman from Oregon who was implanted with a Cook Celect® Vena Cava Filter at Salem Hospital in October 2015.
She accuses Cook Medical of negligence for failing to warn about side effects and selling a defective medical device.
Celect is a temporary filter that is implanted in the inferior vena cava (IVC) to catch blood clots and prevent pulmonary embolisms.
The FDA recommends removing IVC filters within 29-54 days, but they often remain implanted indefinitely. The longer it remains implanted, the higher the chances it will perforate the vena cava.
In one study of 27 patients who were implanted with the Celect, all of them had some degree of vena cava perforation within 71 days of implantation.
The lawsuit was filed on August 26, 2016 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (Indianapolis Division) — Case No. 1:16-cv-02286.
The case was consolidated with over 800 similar lawsuits in a Multi-District Litigation (MDL No. 2570) — In Re: Cook Medical, Inc. IVC Filters Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation
The plaintiff is represented by Ben C. Martin and Thomas Wm. Arbon 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.