According to a recent lawsuit filed against Rex Medical LP, the medical corporation may have released an inferior vena cava (IVC) filter to the market despite a study indicating that the device could be defective.

According to plaintiff Tracy R., she was implanted with a removable IVC filter made by Rex Medical in September 2010. Due to her high risk of experiencing a possibly life-threatening embolism and her decade-long history of using blood thinning medication to reduce her risk of clots, an IVC filter was chosen as her best medical option.

However, Tracy now claims that the device has begun to degrade and break. Six years after she received the device, Tracy’s doctors allegedly discovered that the device had perforated through her vein and was stabbing into her pancreas, aorta, and renal vein.

Although Tracy underwent a multi-hour surgery in January 2017 to attempt to remove the device, she says her doctors were unable to complete the procedure. She notes that while her IVC filter was advertised as a removable device, the breakage, perforation, and migration of the device has made it difficult to remove from her body.

Tracy’s lawsuit against Rex Medical is the first IVC filter lawsuit against the company to go to trial, as well as the first brought to trial by someone with the broken device still inside of their body.

According to Tracy, Rex Medical may have pressured doctors who reported issues with the device during a clinical trial to rethink their opinions on the IVC filter. Rather than conducting further research on the device to ensure it was safe for patients, Tracy claims that the company rushed the device to market.

Background on IVC Filters

Inferior vena cava filters
 are small cage-like devices that are implanted in the inferior vena cava in order to trap blood clots and prevent them from traveling from the extremities back to the heart or lungs.

When a blood clot forms in a deep vein inside of the body, the clot may be carried through the inferior vena cava to the lungs or heart. If a blood clot makes its way to the lungs or heart, it may result in immediate and life-threatening health consequences, including death.

Although IVC filters may be life-saving devices for people who are at immediate risk of a blood clot reaching their heart or lungs, some studies indicate that these devices may break, fracture, or perforate internal organs if they are left in the body and not removed.

In 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a safety warning regarding these devices and recommended that they are removed from patients’ bodies once the risk of blood clots had subsided. This warning was updated in 2014, when the FDA clarified that retrievable IVC filters should generally be removed between 29 and 54 days following the initial implantation.

Victims who have suffered from IVC filter complications may be eligible to hire a qualified attorney and file a class action lawsuit against the manufacturer of these devices. Victims who file class action lawsuits may be able to recover compensation for costs and damages including medical expenses, pain and suffering, injuries, and more.

Tracy’s IVC Filter Lawsuit is Case No: 170300241, in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.