The lawsuit was filed by Willie P., a man from Alabama who was injured by the OptEase® Retrievable Inferior Vena Cava Filter (“IVC Filter”) manufactured by Cordis Corporation and Johnson & Johnson.
The Cordis IVC Filter was surgically implanted on April 20, 2016 in LaGrange, Georgia by Dr. William E. Behm at West Georgia Medical Center. The plaintiff was discharged from the hospital in good health.
Cordis OptEase® Retrievable IVC Filter
Six days later, the plaintiff was readmitted to the hospital after he began suffering from severe chest pains.
An emergency cardiac catheterization was performed, revealing the Cordis IVC Filter had migrated to the plaintiff’s heart and was obstructing his right ventricle and right atrium.
The plaintiff was transferred to Piedmont Atlanta Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia for a higher level of specialized care.
On April 29, 2016, the plaintiff underwent emergency open-heart surgery to remove the OptEase IVC Filter and repair the damage the filter had caused to the plaintiff’s atrium, ventricle, and tricuspid valve. According to his physicians:
Surgery was necessary to treat and prevent imminent death or life-threatening deterioration and failure of his circulatory system.”
After undergoing open-heart surgery, the plaintiff spent 1 month in the hospital recovering. On May 23, 2016, the plaintiff was transferred from the hospital to an inpatient rehabilitation facility where he spent approximately 4 months recovering from his severe, life-threatening injuries.
Cordis Corporation and Johnson & Johnson are accused of selling defective medical devices and failing to warn about dangerous risks.
The lawsuit was filed on August 17, 2017 in the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit in Miami-Date County, Florida — Cook County, Illinois — Case No. 60565803.
Approximately 4,000 other IVC filter lawsuits are currently pending against B. Braun, Rex Medical, Cook Medical, C.R. Bard, and other manufacturers in state and federal courtrooms nationwide.
The plaintiff is represented by attorneys 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.