As of September 2017, reports indicate that there are over 1,500 lawsuits pending against various manufacturers of IVC filter devices. While most of these claims have been filed against C.R. Bard, Inc., the largest manufacturer and distributor of these harmful medical devices, they are only one of several companies that have produced these dangerous filters.
Below is a list of the defendants who have been named in one or more of these lawsuits, as well as the defective products that they have released to the public for medical use:
C.R. Bard is a New Jersey based company named as the defendant in many of the inferior vena cava filter lawsuits. They have been sued previously for producing defective prosthetic hips and surgical mesh. Bard has produced six different IVC filter devices since 1990, some of which are still on the market and available for medical use.
The manufacturer often utilizes loopholes and unethical tactics in order to get their products on the medical market. For instance, Bard used the 510(k) Pre-Market Notification process; a policy that allows manufacturers to bypass the usual requirements of clinical testing and study requirements, so long as they prove the new product is substantially similar to products approved by the FDA previously. It was also found that Bard forged an employee’s signature in order to get one of their IVC filters approved for sale on the market.
Bard is currently involved in an IVC filter multi-district litigation (MDL) in Phoenix, Arizona.
Reordered so in order of oldest to newest.
Braun is a Pennsylvania based medical device company that came out with its first IVC filter model in 1989. That product was replaced because of a reported high rate of “incomplete deployment.” However, the subsequent model has produced similar complications. In June of 2017, the first IVC lawsuit was filed against this manufacturer. Braun’s devices are as follows:
VenaTech Convertible Vena Cava Filter System
VenaTech LP Vena Cava Filter System
VenaTech LGM Vena Cava Filter System
Cook Medical is a medical device company based in Bloomington, Indiana. The company describes itself as a manufacturer of “medical devices for minimally invasive procedures.” Cook Medical put out their first IVC filter device in 1989, and announced that the filter was approved for indefinite implantation. All of the medical devices produced by Cook Medical passed the FDA approval process through the 510(k) policy, as in the case with Bard. Here is a list of their IVC filter devices to date:
Cordis is a subsidiary of the Johnson & Johnson company. They are currently the named defendant in about 10% of the filed IVC filter lawsuits. Both of the devices Cordis markets and sells are available for patient use, and obtained approval from the FDA through the 510(k) Clearance process. Here are their two devices to date:
Boston Scientific is the defendant in several of the IVC filter lawsuits. They produced the Greenfield Vena Cava Filter in 1985, which was designed for implantation in the body. Their device is still on the market today.
Rex Medical is a medical manufacturing company based in Pennsylvania. Incidence reports suggest that this company’s IVC filter devices are subject to both migration and fracturing. Recently, Rex Medical was the named defendant in a lawsuit filed by a Michigan woman whose IVC filter migrated and became embedded in her vein. This produced complications requiring a risky and complicated surgical procedure.
This France-based medical device manufacturer has only one IVC filter device on the market, which was also cleared in 2008 through the 510(k) Clearance Process.
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