The lawsuit was filed by Beonca M., a woman living in Texas who was injured by the VenaTech® Inferior Vena Cava Filter (“IVC Filter”) manufactured by B. Braun Medical Inc.
The IVC filter was surgically implanted in her body on January 14, 2003, while she was living in Michigan, to prevent thrombotic events (blood clots) after she was struck by a motor vehicle as a pedestrian.
B. Braun VenaTech® Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filter
The VenaTech filter was implanted in Flint, Michigan at Hurley Medical Center, which no longer has medical records of the plaintiff’s implant.
On June 26, 2015, the plaintiff underwent a CT scan of her abdomen and pelvis. Examination of the CT scan by a radiologist revealed that two wire legs of the IVC filter (called “struts”) had punctured her vein.
Doctors determined that the VenaTech filter had failed. The plaintiff is now at risk for future pulmonary embolisms (blood clots in the lungs), migrations, vein perforations, and death from the VenaTech IVC filter.
Lawyers accuse B. Braun of selling a defective medical device, according to the lawsuit:
Braun permanent IVC Filters, including the VenaTech filter, suffer from a design defect causing the filters to be unable to withstand the normal anatomical and physical loading cycles exerted in vivo.”
The inferior vena cava is the largest vein in the body, but it has remarkably thin walls because it carries blood under low pressure. IVC filters have a high risk of puncturing the vein — especially over time — because struts dig into the vein as it pulsates with blood or breathing.
Lawsuits accuse B. Braun and other manufacturers of failing to ensure their permanent IVC filters were actually safe and effective for long-term use, as well as downplaying the risk of life-threatening injuries.
The lawsuit was filed on June 16, 2017 in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas — Case ID: 170601744.
Approximately 4,000 other IVC filter lawsuits have now been filed against B. Braun Medical, Rex Medical, Cook Medical, C.R. Bard, and other manufacturers in state and federal courts 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.
Editor’s note: For more information about IVC Filter lawsuits and your legal rights, please contact The Law Offices of Ben C. Martin.