A woman who was injured by the Bard PowerPort ClearVue Implantable Port has filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer.
The PowerPort is a medical device that is implanted completely under the patient’s skin. It is connected to a catheter tube that empties into a large vein, which gives healthcare professionals an easy way to administer IV medications or fluids.
The plaintiff, Patrice T., is a woman from Missouri who was implanted with a single lumen Bard PowerPort in March 2022 for the administration of chemotherapy to treat colon cancer.
Less than 3 weeks later, on April 17, she went to the hospital with complaints of neck pain and swelling. Doctors performed a CT scan, which found concerning evidence of thrombosis (blood clots).
She was hospitalized for the treatment of her blood clots for several days. During this time, doctors also noted that her Bard PowerPort did not function.
Her lawsuit claims that she was forced to undergo “an unnecessary major surgery, increased risk of severe and permanent injuries, severe emotional distress, ongoing fear and anxiety from future injuries, including but not limited to, cardiac tamponade.”
She also accuses the PowerPort manufacturer of failing to adequately warn patients and doctors about the risk of blood clots associated with the PowerPort.
Her lawsuit explains that manufacturing errors in constructing the catheter for the PowerPort have “led to an irregular catheter surface replete with fissures, pits and cracks.”
The rough surface on the catheter drastically raises the risk of blood clots and thromboembolisms, the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit also claims that patients who are implanted with a Bard PowerPort have an increased risk of other life-threatening injuries.
Those injuries include hemorrhage, infection, cardiac arrhythmia, severe pain, tissue perforations, organ damage, needing additional surgeries, and death.
Her lawsuit was filed against Beckton, Dickinson and Company and C.R. Bard Inc. on February 10, 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri — Case Number 4:23-cv-00100-BP.