The lawsuit was filed by Ruthann W., a woman from Michigan who was implanted with the Option™ ELITE Retrievable Inferior Vena Cava (“IVC Filter”) manufactured by Argon Medical Devices Inc. and Rex Medical, L.P.
The IVC Filter was implanted in her vein to catch blood clots and prevent a pulmonary embolism on June 12, 2014 at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, Michigan, by Dr. James Joseph Shields and Dr. Jooman Shim.
Dr. Farhaan R. Mir attempted to retrieve or remove the IVC Filter on October 17, 2014 at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Michigan, but the procedure was not successful.
DR. Minhajuddin Syad Khaja made another attempt at removing the IVC Filter on November 20, 2014 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The plaintiff was injured as a result of the IVC Filter tilting, becoming embedded in her vein, fracturing into pieces, and multiple retrieval surgeries.
Rex Medical and Argon Medical Devices are accused of negligence, liability for failure to warn, liability for selling a defectively designed medical device, failure to warn about dangerous side effects, breach of implied and express warranty, and negligent misrepresentation.
The lawsuit was filed on October 17, 2017 in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania — Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas (Trial Division / Civil Section) — Case ID: 171002193.
There are now over 4,500 other IVC filter lawsuits pending against Rex Medical, Argon Medical, Cook Medical, B. Braun, C.R. Bard, and other manufacturers in state and federal courtrooms nationwide.
The plaintiff is represented by attorney Ben C. Martin of The Law Offices of Ben C. Martin in Dallas, Texas; and attorney Stephen A. Sheller of Sheller, P.C., in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.