The lawsuit was filed by Brendan K., a man from Pennsylvania who was implanted with the C.R. Bard Recovery® Vena Cava Filter on October 10, 2003.
Recovery is a retrievable inferior vena cava (IVC) filter that was approved in 2003 without clinical trials because C.R. Bard claimed it was “equivalent” to two permanent IVC filters.
Recovery has also been also been linked to serious complications. In 2012, a study of 363 patients with the Recovery estimated a 40% 5.5-year fracture risk. If the Recovery fractures, its needle-like wire legs can travel in the bloodstream and become embedded in the heart or lungs.
After less than three years on the market, C.R. Bard pulled Recovery off the market in 2005. No recall was issued, but the decision was made shortly after an internal study by Dr. John Lehmann linked the Recovery with higher rates of complications than its competitors.
Last year, an investigation by NBC News reported that at least 27 deaths and 300 other non-fatal problems have been reported with the Recovery. They also presented evidence of a possibly forged signature on its approval application.
Lawyers say C.R. Bard should have known that the Recovery IVC filter was dangerous. The company is accused of selling a defective medical device and failing to warn about side effects.
The lawsuit was filed on December 1, 2016 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona — Case No. 2:16-cv-04170.
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.