Blood clot filter devices, also known as inferior vena cava filters, are used to help patients avoid potentially fatal lung clots, especially after accidents and surgeries.

However, these devices have been linked with a number of inferior vena cava filter side effects that can cause serious problems for patients, or even become life-threatening.

Inferior Vena Cava Filters

Inferior vena cava filters, or IVC filters, are used to prevent the dangerous complications that come from blood clots accessing a patient’s lungs or heart.

The IVC filter is inserted into the largest vein, the inferior vena cava, to prevent blood clots from reaching these important areas of the body.

Indeed, blood clots traveling to the heart or lungs can cause serious injury or even death. This has prompted many patients at risk of severe blood clotting to be implanted with an IVC filter.

Another popular method of preventing clotting is to use an anticoagulant, or blood thinner. Some patients, however, may be unable to use a blood thinner, and others may simply prefer using an IVC filter instead.

Despite the fact that an inferior vena cava filter is intended to save patients from serious complications, many patients have reported that the filters themselves can cause life-threatening inferior vena cava filter side effects.

In some cases, patients were forced to undergo blood clot filter removal in order to prevent more damage.

About a quarter million patients receive IVC filter devices per year.  Unfortunately,inferior vena cava filter side effects have the potential to cause substantial harm. Since so many thousands of patients receive blood clot filter implants per year, injury statistics can run high.

Inferior Vena Cava Filter Side Effects

Serious inferior vena cava filter side effects can occur if the filter device is defective or incorrectly placed in the vein.

A defective or incorrectly placed device can cause the following inferior vena cava filter side effects:

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

Blood clot filter patients who suffer from these or other IVC filter side effects should seek medical attention to have their filter removed. In some more serious cases, it may be too dangerous for blood clot filter removal, as any movement could cause immediate damage.

Inferior Vena Cava Filter Side Effects Lawsuits

Many patients who have experienced serious inferior vena cava filter side effects such as perforation have responded by filing lawsuits against manufacturers of their device, alleging that the filters are not worth the risk, and that manufacturers intentionally concealed the risk 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 grievous inferior vena cava filter side effects in the last ten years.

Lawsuits over inferior vena cava filter side effects 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 filter lawsuit cannot repair the damage a patient suffers, but can help compensate for financial losses from medical expenses and lost wages a patient may experience.

If you or someone you know has been implanted with an IVC filter and suffered from inferior vena cava filter side effects such as perforation, you may be able to file an IVC filter lawsuit.