Plaintiff Glenn A., a current resident of the State of Florida, recently joined Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) No. 2641 by filing a Bard IVC filter lawsuit in U.S. District Court, District of Arizona on Aug. 4, 2017.

Glenn A. had had an Eclipse inferior vena cava (IVC) filter implanted in his body on April 19, 2011 while living in the State of Missouri.

The Bard IVC filter lawsuit names C.R. Bard Inc. and Bard Peripheral Vascular Inc. as defendants, makers of the Eclipse IVC filter and five other IVC filters at issue in this case. This line of IVC filters were manufactured and marketed to be “retrievable” or removable as needed and thought prudent by the physician in charge.

C.R. Bard Inc. and its subsidiary, Bard Peripheral Vascular Inc., are organized under the laws of the State of Delaware and operate their headquarters in the State of New Jersey.

The IVC filters in question in this MDL and this Bard IVC filter lawsuit specifically are marketed throughout the United States, including the State of Arizona, where the lawsuit was filed, the State of Florida, where the plaintiff currently resides, and the State of Missouri, where the plaintiff had the device implanted.

What is an IVC Filter and What is Its History?

An IVC filter is a device designed to be placed in the main vein that returns de-oxygenated blood from the lower extremities to the heart and lungs. The filter resembles something like an umbrella and have been in use since the 1960s in the medical community.

They were last ditch medical devices that were not removeable prior to the new millennium. They were to be used after all efforts were exhausted by doctors in trying to control blood clotting factors in patients through anticoagulant medication.

Blood clots originating in the lower extremities is part of a condition known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). When these clots break off and travel to the heart and lungs, they can become a primary threat to a patient’s life by their potential to cause heart attack, respiratory arrest and even stroke, if they are able to travel as far as the brain.

When these blood clots reach the lungs, they are technically called a pulmonary embolism (PE).

The defendants in this Bard IVC filter lawsuit were the first to obtain clearance through the Food and Drug Administration in July 2003 to market a removable IVC filter.

It was cleared despite the failure on the part of Bard to provide adequate proof that such devices were safe and effective. This occurred because of the 510K program that allows a clearance short-cut if a medical device company can prove their device is like something else already on the market.

The removeable line of IVC filters have allegedly caused vena cava wall perforations and perforations of other tissues and organs, hemorrhages, death and severe pain. The plaintiff in this case, while not revealing the nature of his problems with the Eclipse IVC filter, brings the following counts against the defendants:

Count One – Strict Products Liability, Manufacturing Defect; Count Two – Strict Products Liability, Information Defect; Count Three – Strict Products Liability, Design Defect; Count Four –  Negligence, Design; Count Five – Negligence, Manufacture; Count Six – Negligence, Failure to Recall, Retrofit; Count Seven – Negligence, Failure to Warn; Count Eight – Negligent Misrepresentation; Count Nine – Negligence Per Se; Count Ten – Breach of Express Warranty; Count Eleven – Breach of Implied Warranty; Count Twelve – Fraudulent Misrepresentation; Count Thirteen – Fraudulent Concealment; Count Fourteen – Violations of Applicable Florida State Law Prohibiting Consumer Fraud and Unfair Deceptive Trade Practices.

The plaintiff in this Bard IVC filter lawsuit is asking for a trial by jury and favorable judgement on his behalf by same. He hopes for relief as demonstrated by an award of compensatory damages for his pain and suffering and financial loss. He hopes for repayment of all court costs and attorney’s fees.

This Bard IVC Filter Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-02612-DGC, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.