The lawsuit was filed by Craig C., a man from Louisiana who was injured by Eclipse® Inferior Vena Cava Filter (“IVC Filter”) manufactured by C.R. Bard and Bard Peripheral Vascular Inc.
The IVC Filter was surgically implanted in his vein at a hospital in Louisiana on May 7, 2011.
Eclipse® Inferior Vena Cava Filter
The Eclipse® IVC Filter has a more highly-polished surface than its predecessor, the G2® Express IVC Filter, but otherwise the two filters are identical.
The problem is that studies have linked the G2® IVC Filter with up to a 40% risk of breaking within 5 years of implantation.
IVC Filters are medical devices that are designed to catch blood clots. The devices are implanted in the inferior vena cava, which is the largest vein in the body. The metal wires of the filter trap blood clots as they float in the bloodstream before the clots hit the heart.
On August 9, 2010, the FDA published a safety alert after receiving 921 injury reports involving IVC Filters — mostly involving “short-term” IVC Filters that were not retrieved after they were no longer needed.
There are now over 4,000 IVC Filter lawsuits nationwide involving people who suffered complications associated with IVC Filters, such as migration, shifting, fracture, breakage, organ damage, heart problems, bleeding, pulmonary embolism, blood clots, and death.
One of the most serious long-term complications is Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), when a blood clot forms deep in the thigh or lower legs. Blood clots can break loose and get stuck in the lungs, causing a Pulmonary Embolism (PE) or Venous Thromboembolism (VTE).
IVC Filters are supposed to prevent blood clot injuries — but the longer an IVC Filter remains implanted, the risk increases that the filter will actually cause circulation problems that result in the development of DVT blood clots. This complication can potentially result in death.
Lawyers accuse C.R. Bard of negligence for manufacturing a defective medical device, failing to warn about side effects, concealing and misrepresenting safety hazards, and violating laws against fraud.
The lawsuit was filed on July 13, 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona — Case 2:17-cv-02310-DGC.
There are now over 2,000 other IVC filter lawsuits against C.R. Bard. The lawsuits have been centralized in a federal 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.