A new plaintiff has come forward to file a lawsuit against C.R. Bard Inc. and Bard Peripheral Vascular Inc., manufacturers of several types of Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) filters. Plaintiff Carmen B. claims injury secondary to IVC filter perforation.

IVC filters are typically umbrella-shaped medical devices that are placed in the main vein that returns de-oxygenated blood to the heart. The devices are intended to filter blood clots before they can travel to the heart or lungs with potential fatal consequences.

Many IVC filters come with stabilizing struts that hold the device in place in the vein. These struts have been implicated in IVC filter perforation of the vein in several patients.

Carmen claims that she was injured after being implanted with the G2 Vena Cava filter on June 6, 2007 while residing in Puerto Rico. She reports getting a diagnostic CT scan on May 5, 2017, in her short-form complaint against the defendants.

The CT scan results allegedly revealed that IVC filter perforation of the main artery had occurred by several of the device’s tines or struts. Carmen says the diagnostic procedure indicated that the IVC filter perforation had brought the one of the tines very close to the abdominal aorta—the main artery that delivers oxygen-enriched blood to the body’s organs and extremities.

In addition to bringing forward thirteen counts from the long-form MDL that include allegations of design and manufacturing defect, fraudulent concealment, breach of implied and express warranties, and negligent misrepresentation, Carmen is holding the defendants liable for violations of laws prohibiting consumer fraud and unfair and deceptive trade practices of Puerto Rico and the State of Texas.

She experienced IVC filter perforation while residing in Texas where she currently lives.

The plaintiff is seeking compensatory damages which include all costs of litigation and prejudgment and postjudgment interest for the injuries she sustained. She is also asking for statutory damages and assessed punitive damages against the defendant.

IVC Filter History and Use

IVC filters have been in use since the 1960s and were primarily designed to reduce the threat of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients at risk for these conditions. IVC filters were and are often used after blood-thinning medications have been tried and failed to control blood coagulation.

For several decades, IVC filters were designed as permanent implants in high-risk patients. The narrative of this lawsuit indicates that the C.R. Bard Co. wanted to expand the device’s market and thus began targeting patients who might be at temporary risk for blood clots. Patients who might fall into this category are those consumers undergoing bariatric surgery, joint replacement, cancer treatment, or care for trauma.

In order to target these patient groups, C.R. Bard and other competitors went about developing the first IVC filter that was could be easily removed once the risk subsided. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first of the defendant’s removable IVC filters in midsummer 2003.

Problems coalesced around the device from the start, according to the documentation. An article published in a reputable surgical journal indicated in October 2015 that they had a tendency to cause or aggravate the very condition they sought to prevent.

The statement was based upon a study which compared 30,000 trauma patients not treated with IVC filters against data from patients that had received this kind of intervention.

The IVC Filter Perforation Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-01359-DGC in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. The case is part of Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) No. 2641, Bard IVC Filters Products Liability Litigation.