An Ohio woman is the latest plaintiff to add her claim of Meridian IVC filter side effects to the growing MDL against manufacturers of IVC products.

Plaintiff Bonnie B. claims that she experienced unexplained Meridian IVC filter side effects after being implanted with a device that she thought would help improve her health, not harm it. Bonnie filed her Meridian IVC filter side effects lawsuit against C.R. Bard Inc. and Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. following her June 2013 implantation of the filter.

She filed her Meridian IVC filter lawsuit on numerous counts, including negligent design, design defects, failure to warn, failure to recall, fraudulent misrepresentation and conceal, negligence per se, and violations of relevant state law.

The various IVC filter lawsuits filed against C.R. Bard have been consolidated into a multidistrict litigation to streamline cases with like issues and allegations. Numerous other plaintiffs have pursued similar claims against Bard for allegedly defective design and manufacture.

Meridian Filter Side Effects

Some of the reported Meridian IVC filter side effects, like those of other IVC filters, include filter migration to other locations in the body, consistent pain in the chest, shortness of breath, or punctured organs like the heart, vena cava, or lungs. IVC filter complications can also lead to death.

A 2010 FDA warning about Meridian IVC filter side effects and those same effects linked to other IVC models pointed out that these filters posted significant health risks and should be taken out of the patient’s body as soon as the risk for blood clots had passed.

IVC Filter Use

Thousands of blood clot filters by various manufacturers are implanted inside patients every single year. While many of these don’t show any initial complications, like Meridian IVC filter side effects, a patient can begin to experience unexplained pain relatively soon after implantation. Sometimes, the attempted removal of these filters poses a unique set of risks as well.

IVC filters are implanted in patients who suffer from complications linked to blood clots. The purpose of having these implanted is to decrease the risk of deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and blood clots.

An IVC filter is intended to trap blood clots that could otherwise travel to the heart or lungs. Unfortunately, some of the IVC filter risks can involve the device puncturing nearby organs. Hundreds of IVC filter injuries from these kinds of side effects have been reported in recent years, and many of these impacted patients say they were never warned about the risk prior to implantation.

Those patients who receive an IVC filter and experience Meridian IVC filter side effects might initially report their concerns to the attending physician. Removal of the filter might be recommended, but at that point, the patient might have already suffered significant problems.

Bonnie’s Meridian IVC Filter Side Effects Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-04007-DGC in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.