IVC Filter Lawsuits

Inferior Vena Cava filters, or IVC filters, are filters placed in the large vein in the abdomen responsible for returning blood from the lower part of the body, the inferior vena cava, in people who physicians worry are at increased risk of forming blood clots in their legs. The filters are designed to catch clots before they travel to the vital organs like the heart, lungs, or brain. Unfortunately, a number of IVC filters (mostly the type that were designed to be removable) are extremely dangerous themselves. These filters have even killed a number of people and left many others with serious, debilitating, permanent injuries and disabilities.

IVC Filter Serious Risks

Defective IVC filters can cause a number of dangerous complications including:

  • Filter fractures where parts of the filter break off and travel to the heart, lungs, or other organs – possibly even perforating (tearing) the heart.
  • Filter perforations where parts of the filter perforate (tear) the vena cava potentially causing damage to other organs.
  • Filter migration where the filter moves inside the vena cava reducing its ability to catch clots and making filter fractures and perforations more likely.
  • Filters may also become stuck so that doctors cannot remove them without causing severe injury or undue complications.

FDA investigation of IVC Filters

The FDA is actively investigating IVC filters and injuries they have caused. The FDA issued an advisory in August 2010 about these types of retrievable filters and potential dangers involved in their failure if left in the body too long. As of that 2010 advisory, the FDA stated that it had received nearly 1000 reports of adverse events involving IVC filters.

As recently as July of 2015, the FDA has sent a warning letter to filter manufacturer Bard regarding a number of violations related to its IVC filters and related devices. Legal filings against Bard state that they hid the negative results of their own research finding the filters dangerous, and they even forged an employee’s signature on an FDA application in order to get FDA approval.

IVC Filters Junell & Associates is investigating

Our firm is currently accepting for review, cases involving the following IVC filters:

  • Bard Recovery Filter
  • Bard G2 Filter
  • Bard G2x Filter
  • Bard G2 Express Filter
  • Bard Meridian Filter
  • Bard Denali Filter
  • Cook Gunther Tulip Filter

Cook Celect Filter

Please contact us if you have one of these IVC filters, even if you have not experienced symptoms yet. We may still be able to help you obtain compensation due to the dangerous nature of this device.
If you have had such a filter installed in your body and you do not know what kind of filter you have, please contact us anyway if you have had any problems. Warning signs include shortness of breath, chest pain, confusion, heart rhythm problems, lightheadedness, nausea, neck pain, and internal bleeding.

A number of medical studies show that some of these IVC filters’ failure rate is between 21% and 31.7%.

A 2005 study by the New England Society for Vascular Surgery found a 31.7% Bard Recovery fracture rate after examining adverse event reports filed with the FDA.

A 2008 study in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology indicated a 21% Bard Recovery failure rate among patients included in the study.

A 2010 study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that the rate of complications with Bard Recovery IVC filters was 25%, with researchers finding that pieces of the Bard Recovery Filter migrated to the heart in more than 70% of those who experienced a fracture.

Take action now to protect your legal rights

Thousands of individuals have been implanted with these dangerous, removable IVC filters, exposing them to a risk of serious and potentially life-threatening injury if the IVC filters fracture, migrate or fail. As a result of the manufacturer’s failure to inform or warn physicians or the public, individuals who received one of these IVC filters may be entitled to financial compensation through an IVC lawsuit. Don’t wait, the passage of time can potentially bar your claim forever. Contact the medical device legal team at Junell & Associates today to find out about your rights and your potential to participate in a lawsuit or settlement.