If you got a surgically implanted inferior vena cava filter and later suffered life-threatening health complications, you may have an eligible IVC filter claim. Manufacturers designed IVC filters to catch blood clots and thereby reduce pulmonary embolism risks. However, these retrievable devices are for short-term use only. Your surgeon should remove it once your blood clot risks subside.

Many patients report IVC filter injuries after leaving them in long-term, and the risk of failure progressively increases over time. For this reason, the Food and Drug Administration issued a 2014 warning advising IVC filter removal occur within 29-54 days. If left in for longer, injury risks rise significantly and device retrieval becomes increasingly more difficult. In fact, one 2013 study found only 8.5% of IVC filters placed in trauma patients were successfully retrieved, and 18.3% of device retrieval attempts failed. As a result, many patients keep these short-term devices inside their bodies for years and suffer from a variety of serious IVC filter side effects.

Studies Show High Perforation, Low Retrieval Rates

According to medical studies, IVC filters perforate the Interior Vena Cava as well as adjacent organs in 46% of patients. Worse, only 1.3% of temporary IVC filters were retrieved during a three-year period. Two Cook Medical filters had especially high perforation rates — Gunther Tulip (46%) and Celect (54%). Further, researchers learned via CT scan that all IVC filters showed some degree of perforation within 71 days. Researchers in a 2010 study found significantly higher in-hospital mortality rates for acute venous thromboembolism (VTE) patients implanted with IVC filters. Further, 26% of those patients received an IVC filter without any proper indication from their doctor.

In recent years, many doctors recommended IVC filters to trauma patients instead of blood thinners due to the risk of bleeding out during surgery. But worryingly, research shows that devices left in longer than intended can cause pulmonary embolisms and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients. The staggering number of IVC filter adverse events reported since 2005 triggered an FDA warning about the device’s long-term risks in August 2010. Despite mounting research showing life-threatening complications were more common than originally thought, by 2012, surgeons implanted 259,000 IVC filters annually in patients. Patients should ask their doctor other preventive treatment options, such as anticoagulant therapy, prior to IVC filter implantation.

First IVC Filter Claim Filed Against C.R. Bard

A Nevada man filed the first IVC filter claim against device manufacturer C.R. Bard in June 2012. Five years after receiving the Bard Recovery filter in 2005, Kevin Phillips said the device broke and perforated his heart. The plaintiff then underwent emergency open-heart surgery in April 2010 to save his life. Just 10 days into his February 2015 trial, C.R. Bard offered to settle Phillips’ IVC filter claim. One month prior in January 2015, Bard confidentially settled yet another IVC filter claim. That plaintiff agreed to settle just 11 days into a C.R. Bard Recovery filter trial. Court documents in that case said Bard executives knew about the Recovery filter fracturing at a rate 28.3 times higher than all similar devices combined. Evidence like this prompted C.R. Bard to quickly settle the case  for an undisclosed amount.

In 2016, an Indiana judge ordered more than 100 IVC filter claims consolidated into a single multi-district litigation (MDL). In addition, U.S. District Judge Robert Young selected three bellwether cases. The first bellwether trial’s plaintiff, Sherri Booker, won $3.6 million in damages after a Bard G2 filter punctured her spine and inferior vena cava. A jury ruling in the second bellwether trial is expected any day now and could produce yet another multimillion-dollar settlement.

Finding a Lawyer to Represent Your IVC Filter Claim

If you or a loved one developed life-threatening complications after having an IVC filter surgically implanted, seek experienced legal advice. An attorney with experience handling device injury cases can review your IVC filter claim to see if you may qualify. Thorough medical records, statements from your primary care physician and surgeon as well as expert testimony can support your case. If you qualify, you may be eligible for financial compensation from the manufacturer. Click the button below now to get your free IVC filter compensation evaluation online.