Inferior vena cava (IVC) filters help catch blood clots before they can travel throughout the body, causing harm. And according to the Axis Research Mind firm, doctors implant around 200,000 blood clot filters annually. However, the device’s construction can lead to many unforeseen IVC filter side effects. Today, more than 10,000 lawsuits are pending from plaintiffs with metal pieces from these filters stuck inside their bodies. And it gets worse: Their doctors cannot remove all the fragments.

Many IVC Filter Side Effects From Device Fragmentation

One of the most dangerous IVC filter side effects occurs when the device’s legs (or “struts”) break off and travel to other body pards. These struts give an IVC filter its structure and helps stop blood clots. But when they detach, it causes a range of problems from torn veins to pulmonary embolisms and heart attacks — exactly the types of problems an IVC filter should prevent.

The issues began in 2003 when C.R. Bard and Cook Medical, Inc. first sold retrievable IVC filters. A physician should monitor the device and then remove it after imminent health risks decrease. But the Food and Drug Administration soon received reports of unfortunate IVC filter side effects. In fact, consumers and doctors reported many new IVC filter side effects — some requiring medical treatment and surgery. These health concerns included device migration, fractures, perforation caused by moving parts, and tilting. The FDA discovered many dangerous side effects may be related to the length of time an IVC filter stays implanted within a patient.

IVC Filter Side Effects: Cardiovascular Damage

Additional IVC filter side effects may occur if the device travels, tilts, or breaks apart. NBC News reported at least 27 deaths connected to the C.R. Bard Recovery filter. The report highlights a woman’s story whose filter fractured and then punctured her heart, causing her pulse to stop. She was rushed into open-heart surgery and is lucky to be alive today. This case is just one of hundreds filed by patients seeking justice for IVC filter side effects. Health complications associated with retrievable IVC filters tend to increase over time. The longer an IVC filter remains within the body, the more a patient’s risk of injury also increases.

FDA IVC Filter Safety Report

The FDA released its first IVC filter safety report about extended retrievable IVC filter use in 2010. According to the FDA, patients should remove retrievable IVC filters once the risk of a pulmonary embolism passes or else risk adverse health events. The report states that between 2005 and 2010, the FDA received a total of 921 adverse event reports about IVC filter migration, perforation, detachment, and filter fracture. These adverse events can cause life-threatening complications for patients.

The FDA now suggests doctors closely monitor IVC filter patients until the device comes out. Additionally, the FDA recommends IVC filter removal occur between 29-54 days after implantation. When filters stay in place longer than recommended, patients risk serious complications as well as unexpected side effects. In May 2015, the FDA announced they were collecting additional clinical IVC filter data.

Juries Award Nearly $8 Million for IVC Filter Side Effects

Since May 2018, three different plaintiffs won multimillion-dollar settlements for IVC filter side effects, including:

• • Sherri Booker, $3.6 million on March 30, 2018. In 2009, a radiologist found metal pieces broken off Booker’s Bard G2 filter inside her inferior vena cava. However, he failed to flag her medical records for follow-up. Those pieces pierced Booker’s spine and heart in 2014, leading to emergency open-heart surgery.
  • strong>Jeffrey Pavlock, $1.2 million on May 24, 2018. A Houston-area firefighter, Pavlock got his Cook Celect filter in 2015 to prevent blood clots. Just seven weeks later the device broke into pieces, piercing Pavlock’s nearby blood vessel, aorta and small intestine. His doctor tried to remove the device twice, but failed to get all the pieces.

Tonya Brand, $3 million on February 6, 2019. In 2011, Brand saw metal pieces sticking out of her right thigh and pulled them out. The metal shards apparently broke off Brand’s Cook Celect filter she got two years earlier in 2009. Unfortunately, some filter fragments are still stuck inside Brand’s body today.

Right now, over 10,000 claims for IVC filter side effects like these are still pending in federal and state courts nationwide. Anyone with an IVC filter right now may qualify for a cash settlement… even with no injuries! Click the button below to confirm your claim’s eligibility for financial compensation. It only takes two minutes to find out online!