Almost eight years ago, Kathleen B.’s husband Eugene died while he was recovering from bariatric surgery.

Eugene had been contemplating having bariatric surgery since 2005.

His doctors were concerned, however, because Eugene had a history of pulmonary embolism, a condition in which a blood clot loose in the circulatory system becomes lodged in the lungs.

On his doctor’s advice, Eugene agreed to have a Bard Recovery IVC filter implanted.

An IVC filter is a device designed to block blood clots from traveling from the lower body up to the heart and lungs, where they can do substantial damage – like causing the pulmonary embolism that Eugene had already dealt with once before.

These filters are used as an alternative to anticoagulant medication in patients for whom such medications are not a viable option.

With the filter implanted, Eugene was less at risk for a future pulmonary embolism.

He was able to proceed with the bariatric surgery. However, Eugene and his wife were not aware of the potential injuries caused by blood filters.

Afterward, while Eugene was still hospitalized at the University of Kansas Medcial Center, Kathleen says he began to feel pressure in his chest. She helped him out of bed, and they began to walk to the restroom.

But on the way, she says, Eugene fell and lost consciousness. Kathleen says he died within minutes after falling.

At first, Kathleen assumed Eugene had died from complications from his bariatric surgery. But results of an autopsy revealed Eugene had died from injuries caused by blood filters.

His Bard Recovery filter had broken out of place and migrated to his heart.

According to Kathleen’s attorney, the blood clot was pushed out of place by a blood clot – a clot that Eugene could have survived, the attorney says.

The very clot that the filter was designed to block was what caused the filter to fail.

Injuries Caused by Blood Filters at Core of Litigation

Now, hundreds of patients and their close relatives are taking C.R. Bard to court over the risks of injuries caused by blood filters.

They allege Bard knew about the risks of failure associated with these devices, yet failed to alert patients or their doctors to those risks.

According to government records, at least 27 deaths have been reported that had some association with a Recovery filter. Around 300 other instances of non-fatal complications have also been reported.

Documents retrieved from Bard seem to support allegations that the company was aware of the risk of injuries caused by blood filters. These documents show Bard commissioned a study on the Recovery IVC filter.

Results from that study showed the Recovery filter had higher rates of relative risk for death, filter fracture and displacement than all other available IVC filters.

But after this report, Bard continued to sell the filter. The company sold around 34,000 more Recovery filters before introducing a new model of filter. Bard never issued a recall for the Recovery filter.

Kathleen says if she and Eugene had known about the rates of injuries caused by blood filters, they never would have let Eugene be implanted with a Recovery filter.