The lawsuit was filed by Angela W., a woman from Marion County, Indiana who was injured by the Celect® Inferior Vena Cava Filter (“IVC Filter”) manufactured by Cook Medical and William Cook Europe ApS.
The IVC Filter was surgically implanted in her inferior vena cava for the purpose of preventing a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs).
It was implanted on July 30, 2012 at Indiana University Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana by Dr. Alan Sawchuk and resident surgeons Dr. Hao Vu and Dr. Adam Gracon.
On April 27, 2016, a CT scan of her abdomen revealed that several struts of the Celect IVC Filter had perforated through the wall of her inferior vena cava and were abutting and/or penetrating into her duodenum (intestines), aorta, and internal abdominal tissues known as the mesentery, causing significant pain in her abdomen and side.
On June 2, 2016, Dr. Gary Lemmon removed her IVC Filter percutaneously at Indiana University Methodist Hospital.
The lawsuit accuses Cook Medical of selling a dangerous medical device that failed to withstand the normal anatomical and physiological loading cycles exerted in the body.
Their Cook Filter was subject to breakage and migration or the appropriate degree of risk of perforation and damage to the vena cava wall.”
The lawsuit was filed on February 27, 2018 in the State of Indiana — Marion County Superior Court — Case No. 49D04-1802-CT-007882.
Cook Medical is currently facing over 3,600 additional IVC filter lawsuits 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.
