Have you developed complications resulting from a faulty IVC filter?

If you are at risk for blood clots, your physician has likely prescribed a blood thinner. However, if you are like some patients who can’t take blood thinners, your doctors might have recommended the implantation of a small metal device, called a retrievable inferior vena cava (IVC) filter.

The inferior vena cava is the largest vein in the body. To keep blood clots from traveling through this vein into the lungs, possibly causing death, the surgeon implants a retrievable IVC filter into the vein using a catheter. The filter is meant to work by trapping blood clots before they reach the lungs.

IVC filters are not new; in fact, they have been implanted in more than 259,000 by 2013. The problem is that in some cases faulty filters have punctured veins and migrated to other parts of the body where they cause life-threatening complications.

Past recipients of retrievable IVC filters have filed lawsuits against manufacturers C.R. Bard and Cook Medical for poor design, manufacturing and failure to warn about the risks. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety alert back in 2010 detailing the potential hazards of the device, including heart attack and stroke as well as punctured organs. In 2014, the FDA updated this safety communication with recommended instructions about when the device should be removed.

If you or a member of your family has suffered complications from a faulty IVC filter, you may be entitled to compensation in an IVC filter lawsuit. The attorneys at Nager, Romaine & Schneiberg Co., L.P.A. are here to advocate on your behalf. Call us at 216-289-4740, or toll-free from Ohio at (855) GOT-HURT. You can also fill out our No-Risk Consultation form.