There are two main approaches to blood clot problems. One is blood thinner drugs, or anticoagulants. Another popular option is an IVC blood clot filter.

What is an IVC Blood Clot Filter?

An IVC blood clot filter, or inferior vena cava filter, is used to help prevent serious blood clot problems that occur when clotting enters a patient’s lungs or heart.

The IVC filter is placed in the largest vein, or the inferior vena cava, to obstruct the path of blood clot filters into sensitive organs.

Patients determined to be at particular risk for blood clotting complications are often prescribed an anticoagulant or implanted with an IVC blood clot filter to reduce that risk.

Certain patients are unable to take a blood thinning drug for various reasons—whether they be allergic or simply more prone to complications—and are instead implanted with an IVC filter.

Since hundreds of thousands of patients receive IVC filter implants each year, any side effects of these devices have the potential to create devastatingly widespread problems.

Indeed, even though IVC filters are supposed to help patients avoid serious complications, the devices themselves have been associated with a number of dangerous complications. In some cases, side effects were serious enough that patients had to have their filters removed.

IVC Filter Complications

Serious complications can occur if the IVC filter is defective or incorrectly placed within the inferior vena cava. A defective or incorrectly placed device can cause serious side effects, including:

• Vein perforation
• Organ perforation
• Device migration/breakage
• Pulmonary embolism

IVC filter patients who suffer from serious side effects may need to have their filter removed. In some more serious cases, blood clot filter removal may be too dangerous, as moving the filter could cause immediate serious damage.

IVC Filter Lawsuits

Many patients who have experienced serious IVC filter side effects such as perforation have responded by filing products liability lawsuits against the manufacturers of their device.

Plaintiffs often allege the benefits of these filters are not worth the risk, and that manufacturers intentionally concealed the seriousness of side effects from consumers and the larger medical community.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports that hundreds of patients have reported serious blood clot filter side effects in the last ten years.

IVC filter side effects lawsuits allege that device manufacturers have a responsibility to warn consumers and the medical community about the serious risks associated with their filter devices.

Filing an IVC blood clot filter lawsuit cannot repair the damage a patient suffers, but it can help compensate for financial losses a patient may experience due to medical expenses and lost wages.

If you or someone you know has been implanted with a blood clot filter and suffered from complications such as perforation, you may be able to file a IVC blood clot filter lawsuit.