A new lawsuit was filed in an Arizona federal court in which the plaintiff claims the Meridian vena cava filter is a defective medical device.

The Meridian vena cava filter is made by the C.R. Bard Company and is one of six similar medical devices that are the subject of products liability litigation under Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) No. 2641. All lawsuits related to this MDL have originated in or been transferred to this district.

In addition to the Meridian vena cava filter, there is the Recovery vena cava filter, the G2 & G2-X vena cava filter, Eclipse vena cava filter, and Denali vena cava filter. Vena cava filters are small medical devices which resemble partially open umbrellas with spokes or ‘struts’.

A filter is placed in the major vein which returns de-oxygenated blood to the heart located adjacent to the major artery known as the aorta.

The aim of the Meridian vena cava filter and any of the other C.R. Bard types named is to filter out blood clots made in the deep veins of the legs by some people—this condition is known as Deep Vein Thrombosis of DVT.

When blood clots break off and are allowed to travel through the bloodstream, they can be the cause of pulmonary embolism (PE) or respiratory arrest and sometimes cardiac arrest and stroke. These are critical life-threatening medical events.

The group of devices of which the Meridian vena cava filter is a part, were created as part of C.R. Bard’s alleged strategy to expand the market to include patients who were at short-term risk for blood clots.

Previously, these devices were permanently placed in individuals prone to blood clots over the long haul—patients that could not take blood-thinners.

These newer evolutions of filters were created and marketed to be removeable and were for people undergoing joint replacements, cancer treatments, bariatric surgery and other invasive but short-lived medical interventions.

The Plaintiff’s Story

In this newest lawsuit, plaintiff Albert B.—a citizen and resident of the State of Ohio—alleges injury from the Meridian vena cava filter. The Meridian vena cava filter was placed in the complainant on April 4, 2012 in Ohio. Albert brings forth several causes of action from the master complaint into his case:

• Strict Products Liability: Manufacturing Defect, Failure to Warn, & Design Defect
• Negligence: Design, Manufacture, Failure to Recall, Failure to Warn, Misrepresentation, & Per Se.
• Breach of Express & Implied Warranty
• Fraudulent Misrepresentation & Concealment
• Violations of Ohio Consumer Fraud & Unfair Deceptive Trade Practices

Albert is asking for a jury trial with a favorable judgment on his behalf. He is asking for compensatory, statutory, and punitive damages to address his physical, emotional, and economic suffering secondary to the implantation of the product in question.

Problems with C.R. Bard Vena Cava Filters

In the summer of 2003, the C.R. Bard Co. was the first to get approval to market a retrievable vena cava filter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This was done, according to the lawsuit, without a lot of data supporting the efficacy or safety of the device.

A published study of 30,000 trauma patients that received removable vena cava filters reported that—compared to a like control group—twice as many patients died, five times as many developed DVT, and twice the percentage experienced PE. PE is the condition the vena cava filter is allegedly designed to prevent.

The C.R. Bard Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-01645-DGC in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.