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Blood Clot Filter Lawsuit | Get the Right Lawyer

Blood clot filters, also known as inferior vena cava (IVC) filters, have been linked to thousands of reports of complications including device migration, organ perforation, internal bleeding and death.
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C.L. Mike Schmidt Published by C.L. Mike Schmidt

After receiving nearly 1,000 injury reports associated with blood clot filters, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is warning doctors to remove the devices before they break apart inside patients’ bodies and do damage. Complications of a fractured blood clot filter may include device migration, organ perforation, internal bleeding and death.

Free Confidential Lawsuit Evaluation: If you or a loved one has had an IVC filter implanted, you should contact our law firm immediately. Our lawyers are evaluating every individual case regardless of whether you have been injured or not. So, if you have received an IVC filter implant, we would like to speak with you. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a suit against the IVC filter’s manufacturer and our lawyers can help.

Vena Cava Filter FDA Warning

In August 2010, FDA issued a blood clot filter warning [1] to doctors urging them to remove the devices once the patient is no longer at risk for venous thromboembolism (condition that occurs when a blood clot breaks away and travels through the bloodstream). Failure to do so could result in the filter fracturing inside the body and causing serious damage.

At the time of the warning, FDA had received at least 921 adverse event reports associated with blood clot filters. Of these:

  • 328 involved the device breaking away from the implant site and traveling to another part of the body
  • 146 involved IVC filter components breaking loose
  • 70 involved the inferior vena cava being punctured / perforated
  • 56 reports of filter fracture

The warning stated:
“FDA is concerned that these retrievable IVC filters, intended for short-term placement, are not always removed once a patient’s risk for PE subsides. Known long term risks associated with IVC filters include but are not limited to lower limb deep vein thrombosis (DVT), filter fracture, filter migration, filter embolization and IVC perforation.”

Blood Clot Filter Complications

  • Fracture of the IVC Filter
  • Perforation, Puncture or Serious Damage to the Heart, Lungs or Blood Clot
  • Internal Bleeding
  • Cardiac or Pericardial Tamponade
  • Ventricle Tachycardia
  • Lower Limb DVT
  • Hematoma or Nerve Injury at the Puncture Site
  • Constant and Severe Pain in the Heart, Chest or Elsewhere in the Body
  • Pulmonary Embolism
  • Infection
  • Death

JAMA Study

In November 2013, a study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine [2] that examined the safety of Bard’s Peripheral Vascular Recovery and G2 blood clot filters. Specifically, the researchers looked at the rate of complications in patients who were implanted with these devices.

A team led by Dr. William Nicholson at York Hospital in PA evaluated 189 patients who received a Bard Recovery or G2 IVC filter between April 2004 and January 2009. Of these:

  • 35 patients died
  • 10 already had their filter removed
  • 1 person was pregnant
  • 80 test subjects underwent fluoroscopy to assess the integrity of the blood clot filter. Of these, 52 patients had the Bard G2 filter
  • 16% of filters fractured
  • 25% of the original recovery filters fractured such that 1 or more of the device’s arms broke off
  • 71% of the fragmented pieces traveled through the bloodstream to the heart
  • 12% of patients with the redesigned G2 model experienced filter fracture

Blood Clot Filter Brands

Our lawyers are accepting potential lawsuits for injuries associated with the following types of blood clot filters:

Bard IVC Filter

Cook IVC Filter

Other Manufacturers

Cook IVC Filter Multidistrict Litigation

On October 15, 2014, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) [3] ruled that all federal lawsuits involving Cook IVC filters will be centralized in the Southern District of Indiana before District Judge Richard L. Young. All of the complaints involve similar allegations that manufacturing defects with Cook vena cava filters make the devices likely to fracture, migrate and puncture internal organs.

Do I Have a Blood Clot Filter Lawsuit?

The Medical Device Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus on the representation of plaintiffs in Blood Clot Filter Lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new complications cases in all 50 states.

Free Confidential Lawsuit Evaluation: If you or a loved one has had an IVC filter implanted, you should contact our law firm immediately. Our lawyers are evaluating every individual case regardless of whether you have been injured or not. So, if you have received an IVC filter implant, we would like to speak with you. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a suit against the manufacturer and our lawyers can help.

Free Confidential Case Evaluation

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