August 4, 2016 — A man who was left with an IVC filter permanently embedded in his body has filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers for failing to warn about the risk.
The lawsuit (PDF) was filed by Steven Akin, a man from Texas who was injured by the Option® vena cava filter made by Argon Medical Devices and Rex Medical.
Akin was implanted with the Option at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas in September 2011.
In May 2016, he visited Dr. Omar Colon with complaints of back pain. An X-ray revealed that the Option had become embedded in his inferior vena cava. Dr. Colon recommended that the IVC filter should not be removed because it might lacerate his inferior vena cava.
Akin will now require ongoing medical monitoring for the rest of his life. He is also at risk of life-threatening complications:
“As long as the Option filter remains embedded in his vena cava, Plaintiff is at risk for future thrombosis, filter fractures, migrations, perforations, and tilting. He faces numerous health risks, including the risk of death.”
The Option is a temporary IVC filter that the FDA recommends removing as soon as it is no longer needed — ideally within 29-54 days after it is implanted. The longer it remains implanted, the higher the risk of complications.
Argon and Rex Medical are accused of negligence for selling a defective, unreasonably dangerous medical device and failing to warn about side effects.
The lawsuit was filed on August 4, 2016 in Dallas County Civil Court — Case No. CC-16-03886-A.
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