IVC Filter Trials: Cook Medical Bellwether Dismissed, Bard Bellwether, Cordis and Rex Medical Going Forward

Indianapolis, INSince 2003, thousands of IVC Filters lawsuits have been filed nationwide. If you have an IVC Filter claim, however, file sooner than later: Cook Medical claims were dismissed in the current bellwether case because they were filed more than three years after the device was delivered. But thousands more cases are set for trial.

Cook Medical IVC Filters Lawsuit

In October 2014, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated all federal lawsuits filed against Cook Medical into an MDL in the Southern District of Indiana. The panel assigned the MDL to Judge Richard L. Young. It chose Indiana because Cook is headquartered in the state, and it's "where relevant documents and witnesses are likely to be found," stated the transfer order. At the time, 27 lawsuits were pending in 11 districts, all claiming that defects in the design of Cook's IVC filters make them prone to complications.

Judge Young ruled on March 9 that Arthur Gage's claim against vascular filter maker Cook Medical Inc. was untimely and dismissed the second bellwether action. (Bellwethers, also known as test cases, are important because they gauge how juries will weigh the facts in other similar cases.) He further found the terms and conditions applicable to the sale of Gage's IVC filter "expressly disclaim the implied warranty of merchantability," according to court documents. Gage says the Günther Tulip filter perforated his vena cava and can't be removed. The MDL -2570 IN RE: Cook Medical, Inc., IVC Filters Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation grew to 3,834 lawsuits, and 3,758 remained pending as of February 2018.

The first Cook Medical bellwether trial involved plaintiff Elizabeth Jane Hill, a Florida woman who received a Cook Celect vena cava filter in 2010. Cook won a unanimous verdict November 9, following the three-week trial. Cook is accused of failure to warn, design defects, negligence, fraudulent concealment, punitive damages, and breach of express and implied warranty.

Bard IVC Filters Lawsuit

The first test case in a mass litigation against Bard's G2 model IVC filter is slated for March 14 in Phoenix. Sherr-Una Booker's federal case is one of more than 3,000 claims consolidated in the MDL where U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell is presiding.

Booker claims in her lawsuit, first filed in February 2016, that her injuries included filter tilting, fracture and perforation. Reuters (Feb 28, 2018) said Lawyers will be closely watching the bellwether, especially after a jury rejected similar claims against Cook Medical Inc, in November. (Case 2:15-md-02641-DGC) C.R. Bard is facing more than 3,000 lawsuits over its IVC filters in the state of Arizona alone.

Cordis IVC Filters Lawsuit

Eighteen people filed a lawsuit on March 6, 2018 in the Superior Court of the State of California (Alameda County) against Cordis Corporation, alleging injuries caused by the TrapEase and OptEase IVC Filters. The Daily Hornet (March 12, 2018) reports that the lawsuit also cites studies linking the Cordis IVC Filters with high rates of fracture: OptEase filters and the TrapEase filters suffer fracture rates of 37.5 percent and 23.1 percent respectively, when left implanted a minimum of 46 months. Another recent study found that the TrapEase filter had a 64 percent fracture rate when left in more than four years. Cordis Corporation and Johnson & Johnson are accused of failing to warn about these serious safety risks, and more. (Case No. RG18894069)

Argon Medical Devices and Rex Medical, L.P IVC Filters Lawsuit

At the beginning of February, a woman from Massachusetts filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania against Argon Medical Devices and Rex Medical, L.P., claiming their Option ELITE Retrievable IVC filter is faulty. Julie M. had the filter implanted in 2015 and in 2016, she underwent surgery again to remove the filter (the device is supposed to be temporary and retrievable), but the procedure was not successful. The IVC filter became embedded in her inferior vena cava and tilted. Argon Medical Devices and Rex Medical are accused of failure to warn patients about the severe side effects, negligence, misrepresentation of risks, and manufacturing and selling a faulty medical device. (Case ID: 1801055860).

Over 7,000 IVC Filter Lawsuits

Since 1979, when IVC filters were first introduced, hundreds of thousands of IVC filters have been implanted in patients. In August 2010, the FDA issued a safety communication stating IVC filters "are not always removed," and known long term IVC filter risks include lower limb deep vein thrombosis, filter fracture, filter migration, filter embolization and IVC perforation. There are now over 7,000 IVC filter lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson, C.R. Bard, Cook Medical, Cordis Corporation, B. Braun, Rex Medical, and other manufacturers in state and federal courts.