The man, Jeffrey C., was implanted with a Cook Celect® Vena Cava Filter in July 2013 at Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Virginia.
His lawsuit was consolidated in Multi-District Litigation (MDL No. 2570) under U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young, where 818 lawsuits were pending against Cook Medical as of August 15.
Cook Medical is accused of negligence for selling a defective medical device and failing to warn about side effects.
In recent years, a number of studies have raised serious concerns about the risk of perforation. This complication occurs when the needle-like wire legs of the Celect puncture the walls of the vena cava.
In one study, Celect was linked to a 43% risk of vena cava perforation after two months. In another study of 27 patients who were implanted with the Celect, all of them had some degree of perforation within 71 days.
Celect is a temporary filter that should be removed within 29-54 days, according to the FDA. The longer it remains inside the body, the higher the risk of complications.
The lawsuit was filed on August 22 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (Indianapolis Division) — Case No. 1:16-cv-02238.
He is represented by Ben C. Martin and Thomas Wm. Arbon of the Law Offices of Ben C. Martin in Dallas, Texas.
