An Illinois patient joins a growing multi-district litigation claiming that the Gunther Tulip blood clot filter is defective and causes injury.

According to many patients, the Gunther Tulip blood clot filter is just one of a number of IVC filters made by Cook Medical that may be defective in its design and dangerous as a result.

Plaintiff Maureen D. says that she had the Gunther Tulip Vena Cava Filter inserted into her vena cava on June 22, 2004, to help reduce her risk of blood clots and stroke. She says that the design of the filter was defective and posed a danger to her health and well being.

She aims to hold Cook Incorporated, Cook Medical LLC, and William Cook Europe ApS, the makers of the Gunther Tulip blood clot filter liable for negligence, breach of express and implied warranty. She also aims to hold the companies liable for strict product liable for failure to warn her that the device was defective and possibly dangerous, and liable for the alleged design defect of the filter itself.

Maureen also claims that Cook violated Illinois law “prohibiting consumer fraud and unfair and deceptive trade practices.” She seeks punitive damages to compensate for Cook’s alleged violation of consumer protection law, for allegedly failing to warn patients of the possible risks associated with the Gunther Tulip blood clot filter, and for releasing a defective product onto the market.

The Gunther Tulip Vena Cava Filter is just one of a range of inferior vena cava filters, or IVC filters, produced by Cook. These filters are inserted into the body’s largest vein and are used to catch blood clots before they travel throughout a patient’s body, possibly causing heart attack, stroke, or loss of circulation to the extremities of a patient’s body.

Patients in the Cook IVC filter multi-district litigation allege that multiple filters made by Cook have design flaws that render them ineffective and dangerous.

The filters included in the Cook IVC filter class action lawsuit are the Gunther Tulip Vena Cava Filter, the Cook Celect Vena Cava Filter, the Gunther Tulip MRI, and the Cook Celect Platinum filter.

IVC filters can either be designed to remain in a patient’s body permanently after implantation, or they can be designed to be able to be removed once a patient’s risk of blood clots and strokes has diminished. The IVC filters thought to be defective are designed to be removable, but allegedly, a defect in their design makes them extremely difficult if not impossible to remove.

Allegedly, the filters can puncture the walls of a patient’s vena cava and can become embedded there, making them extremely difficult to extract. Additionally, In other cases, patients claim that their IVC filter had migrated from the place that it was implanted, or tilted out of position. This allegedly could cause injury to a patient’s body.

According to many patients, Cook responded to an increase in demand for IVC filters but did not sufficiently research the filters they produced to examine the effects of the filters on the health of patients.

The Gunther Tulip Blood Clot Filter Class Action Lawsuit is Case 1:18-cv-03869-RLY-TAB, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division.