A Nevada patient joins a multidistrict litigation claiming that she was injured from IVC filter complications caused by defects in the device.

Plaintiff Ilene S. and her husband, Scott S. have filed an IVC filter complications lawsuit against Cook Medical, claiming that Ilene was injured by Cook’s Gunther Tulip Vena Cava Filter because the device is defective and dangerous.

Ilene says that she had the device implanted in her body in Mountain View Hospital in Las Vegas, Nev., on March 21, 2011. They aim to hold Cook Medical, the makers of the device, accountable for Ilene’s alleged injuries, and for loss of consortium as Ilene’s injuries allegedly negatively impacted Ilene and Scott’s relationship.

The couple claims that the company was negligent in releasing a dangerous and defective IVC filter onto the market, and argues that Cook Medical failed to warn patients that the device was defective and could cause them injury. Based on this, Ilene and Scott also filed on counts of alleged breach of implied and expressed warranty, and argue that Cook Medical violated Nevada law that prohibits “customer fraud and unfair and deceptive trade practices.”

Ilene and Scott’s lawsuit joins an IVC filter multidistrict litigation consisting of patients and families who claim that a range of inferior vena cava filters made by Cook Medical are defective. According to the patients in the IVC filter complications class action lawsuit, the following devices are defective and dangerous:

• Gunther Tulip Vena Cava Filter
• Cook Celect Vena Cava Filter
• Gunther Tulip Mreye Filter
• Cook Celect Platinum

According to patients like Ilene, these IVC filters are “associated with, and cause, an increased risk for serious injury and death as a result of adverse events including: tilting, perforation, fracture, breakage, and migration.”

What are IVC Filters?

IVC filters are small metal filters that are inserted into the vena cava vein, a large vein that carries deoxygenated blood into the heart. The filters are designed to catch blood clots before they travel through the body.

When a blood clot travels through the body, it can block blood flow to various limbs or organs. When blood flow is blocked to the limbs, a loss of circulation can cause tissues to die, necessitating amputation. When blood flow is blocked to the brain, a stroke can occur, which can be fatal.

Patients like Ilene in the IVC filter complications MDL argue that Cook’s IVC filters are defective in their design.

Most filters are designed to be removed when a patient’s risk of blood clots is lowered. Such is allegedly the case with the Cook IVC filters in question. However, if complications set in, they can be very difficult to remove.

IVC filter complications can have the filter puncture tissue in a patient’s body, become embedded improperly in the tissue, or the filter can tilt and move improperly from the place in which it was implanted.

These occurrences can allegedly cause patients serious injury. Patients argue that Cook knew or should have known that the devices are defective, but marketed them as safe and effective.

Plaintiffs say Cook Medical, and other IVC filter manufacturers, should have conducted more extensive testing on the devices to determine that they are safe and reliable before releasing them onto the market.

The IVC Filter Complications Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-03562-TWP-DLP, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis.