The lawsuit was filed by Francis L. a woman from California who was implanted with the C.R. Bard G2® X Vena Cava Filter on November 17, 2009 at a hospital in Oregon.
The G2 X was introduced in 2008 while Bard was still selling the G2, an earlier version that had been on the market since 2005.
Bard G2® X IVC Filter
The FDA approved both filters for removal in 2008, and in 2010 recommended removing them as soon as possible depending on the patient’s health.
C.R. Bard withdrew the G2 from the market in 2010, and soon pulled the G2 X off shelves without issuing any recalls or safety warnings.
That same year, a study found “high prevalences of fracture and embolization” associated with the G2 and another filter, the Recovery.
Over 160,000 people were implanted with the G2 or G2 X between 2005 and 2010. During that time, they were associated with at least 12 deaths and hundreds of injuries, according to an investigation by NBC News.
Another concern has been studies linking the G2 with high rates of fracture and embolization — a complication that occurs when the needle-like legs of an IVC filter break off and travel in the bloodstream.
In one study from June 2014, researchers estimated that 38% of G2 IVC filters would fracture within 5 years, with the risk increasing over time.
C.R. Bard is accused of selling defective medical devices when it knew, or should have known, that those devices posed unreasonably dangerous safety risk, but failed to warn patients about the hazards.
The lawsuit was filed on December 28, 2016 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona — Case No. 2:16-cv-04558.
It will be centralized with over 1,280 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 a trial attorney who 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.