July 6, 2015 — Nearly 100 lawsuits have been filed against Cook Medical Inc. by people who were injured by IVC filters, which are cage-like medical devices designed to capture blood clots before they reach a patient’s lungs.
Cook’s IVC filters include the Günther Tulip and Celect, which are implanted in a patient’s inferior vena cava (IVC). Lawsuits claim the devices are defective because thin wire legs (“struts”) can break off, perforate the venal caval wall, travel to areas of the body where they are impossible to remove, and cause organ damage.
The International Business Times reports that many of the lawsuits have been filed by Dallas-based attorney Ben Martin, who said:
“There are probably tens of thousands of people that are walking around with a perforated vena cava and have absolutely no idea,” Martin said. “You’ve got a massive public health risk in the United States.”
All of the lawsuits have been centralized in a federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL No. 2570) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, under Judge Richard Young.
Problems for Cookhave been growing since 2010, when the FDA warned about hundreds of adverse events linked to retrievable IVC filters that were not retrieved in a timely manner.
In April 2012, a study published in Cardiovascular Interventional Radiology looked at outcomes for patients implanted with the Günther Tulip or Celect filters between July 2007 and May 2009. After just 2-1/2 months, 100% of the filters had some degree of perforation into the venal caval wall. Furthermore, 40% of those filters tilted out of position.
Do I have an 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.
Please use the form below to contact our Defective Medical Device Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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