An Idaho woman has filed an IVC filter lawsuit against Cook Medical citing Gunther Tulip filter complications.

Plaintiff Samantha D. says she was implanted with a Gunther Tulip inferior vena cava filter on May 4, 2010 at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Her short form complaint brings forth counts of failure to warn, design defect, negligence, negligence per se, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty and punitive damages. It is joining the larger multidistrict litigation, MDL, which has consolidated the lawsuits against Cook Medical for Gunther Tulip filter complications as well as complications from the company’s other inferior vena cava filter models.

The lawsuits in this MDL claim similar complications with inferior vena cava filters. Plaintiffs claim that they have suffered a host of complications including caval penetration, filter fracture and filter migration.

According to a study published in the journal Cardiovascular Interventional Radiology in March 2011 about Gunther Tulip filter complications and Celect filter complications showed that for filters implanted between July 2007 and May 2009, after 71 days, all showed some degree of venal caval wall perforation.

That same study about Celect and Gunther Tulip filter complications found that 20 out of 50 (or 40%) of inferior vena cava filters showed tilt.

The MDL master complaint states that “[w]hile not inclusive of all medical studies published during the relevant time period, the above references show that the Defendants failed to disclose to physicians, patients and/or Plaintiffs that its Cook Filters were subject to breakage, tilt, inability of removal, and migration even though they knew or should have known the same was true.”

Essentially, Cook should have been aware that their devices were defective and might possibly result in severe complications for the patient.

An inferior vena cava filter is a small, umbrella-shaped medical device that is placed in the largest vein of the body to catch blood clots that might travel from the lower extremities to the heart, lungs or brain. These filters are often implanted in patients who for whatever reason are not able to take blood thinning medications.

Most inferior vena cava filters are designed to be removable. The FDA recommends these filters should be removed as soon as the risk for blood clots has passed.

The plaintiffs in this MDL, including Samantha, believe that the Cook inferior vena cava filters “were dangerous and presented a substantial danger to patients.” They also believe that Cook knew about Celect and Gunther Tulip filter complications and failed to warn the medical community and patients about the risks.

They assert that plaintiffs have suffered permanent and ongoing injuries, disability, pain and suffering, impairment, emotional trauma, harm and injuries that will be also suffered in the future.

The plaintiffs claim that they have lost the ability to live normal lives and have “lost earnings and will continue to lose earnings into the future and have medical bills, both past and future.”

This Gunther Tulip Filter Complications Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-03262-SEB-TAB and is part of the Cook IVC Filter MDL, In Re: Cook Medical, Inc. IVC Filters Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2570, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division.