The lawsuit was filed by Christopher James G., a man from Bloomington, Indiana who was implanted with the Celect® Inferior Vena Cava Filter (“IVC Filter”) manufactured by Cook Medical LLC and William Cook Europe ApS.
IVC Filters are designed to filter blood clots (called “thrombi”) that might otherwise travel from the lower portion of the body to the heart and lungs.
The IVC Filter is designed to be implanted permanently or temporarily in the inferior vena cava, a vein that carries blood to the heart from the lower portion of the body.
The plaintiff was implanted with an IVC Filter in Bloomington, Indiana by Dr. John Hamelink at Indiana University Health Bloomington.
On March 30, 2016, the plaintiff’s doctor noted that a review of a previously-completed CT scan revealed that the IVC Filter had perforated through his inferior vena cava and was potentially penetrating into the upper part of his intestines (duodenum).
On April 18, 2016, the doctors attempted to remove the IVC Filter. Unfortunately, the filter could not be removed because the hook at the apex of the filter had become embedded into the plaintiff’s vein, making unsafe any further attempts at removing the IVC Filter.
On May 23, 2016, the plaintiff underwent an open surgery. His doctors performed an exploratory laparotomy with IVC Filter retrieval and reconstruction of his inferior vena cava. The lawsuit states:
During this surgery, the Defendant’s Celect Filter had to be deconstructed and removed piece by piece due to the filter’s hook being embedded and the severity of perforation from several of the filter’s struts through Plaintiff’s vena caval wall.”
The plaintiff is at risk for future Cook IVC Filter fractures, migrations, perforations, and tilting. He faces numerous health risks, including the risk of death. He will require ongoing medical monitoring and the use of blood-thinning anticoagulant medications for the rest of his life.
The lawsuit accuses Cook Medical of negligence for failing to warn about potential side effects and selling a defect medical device.
The lawsuit was filed on February 1, 2018 in Marion County Superior Court (Civil Division) in the State of Indiana — Case No. 49D12-1802-CT-004221.
Cook Medical is now facing over 3,600 IVC filter lawsuits in state and federal courts nationwide. Most of the lawsuits are centralized in a federal Multi-District Litigation in Indiana (MDL No. 2570) — In Re: Cook Medical, Inc., IVC Filters Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation.
The plaintiff is represented by attorney Ben C. Martin of The Law Offices of Ben C. Martin in Dallas Texas.
Ben C. Martin is a trial attorney based in Dallas, Texas who serves as the plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel in the Cook 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.