August 18, 2015 — Federal judges have centralized 22 lawsuits involving C.R. Bard IVC filters into a Multi-District Litigation (MDL No. 2641) in Arizona under U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell.
The transfer order (PDF) was issued by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) on August 17. Arizona was chosen because the Bard entity responsible for design, testing, marketing, labeling, and post-marketing surveillance of IVC filters.
The lawsuits involve the Bard Recovery, G2, and G2 Express retrievable filters. Judges decided centralization was appropriate because the lawsuits are so similar:
“All actions involve common factual questions arising from allegations that defects in the design of Bard’s retrievable inferior vena cava filters (“IVC filters”) make them more likely to fracture, migrate, tilt, or perforate the inferior vena cava, causing injury.”
Furthermore, centralization helps improve efficiency, reduces costs, and eliminates the risk of inconsistent pretrial rulings in different courts.
Although some cases are near trial, plaintiffs have expressed their intention to reopen discovery after the FDA issued a warning letter to Bard last month. Investigators discovered that Bard had misclassified about a half-dozen serious injuries and one death as “device malfunctions.”
The announcement is not surprising. The JPML has already centralized Cook IVC filter lawsuits in the Southern District of Indiana. As of yesterday, there were 117 lawsuits pending in MDL No. 2570.
Do I have a Bard IVC Filter Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is evaluating IVC filter cases in all 50 states, regardless of whether you were injured or not. If you or someone you know received an IVC filter implant, please contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a lawsuit.
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