IVC Blood Clot Filters

IVC filters, designed to prevent life threatening pulmonary embolisms, actually have life threatening side effects. According to the FDA, leaving IVC filters in place long-term may cause dangerous, and potentially fatal, complications.

Have you suffered as a result of a failed IVC Filter?

There are numerous lawsuits pending against IVC filter manufacturers, including C.R. Bard and Cook Medical, on behalf of individuals and their families who have been hospitalized with an injury or suffered a wrongful death due to a failed IVC filter. Many of these legal claims cite negligence, failure to warn, poor design and manufacturing defects on the part of the manufacturers.

The Nash & Franciskato Law Firm is accepting IVC filter lawsuit claims. Contact us immediately to discuss your situation. Our knowledgeable staff is available at (877) 284-6600.


C.R. Bard IVC Filter News Updates

Do IVC Filters Make a Difference? A new study published in JAMA Surgical suggests that IVC filters may not help people who are at risk of dangerous blood clots to improve their chances of survival. Read the full post.

IVC Filter Lawsuit Update, October 21, 2016. Find out what’s happening with IVC filter litigation.

Continuing Coverage on Dangers of IVC Blood Clot Filters. On December 31, 2015, NBC News released a follow-up on their exclusive year-long investigation. Read the Full Post

NBC News Investigates Safety of C.R. Bard IVC Filter

NBC News speaks with Dodi Froehlich, a woman who suffered multiple traumas after a car accident, putting her at high risk for blood clots. As part of her treatment, an IVC device (the Recovery) made by C.R. Bard was implanted to prevent potential clots.

Listen to Dodi’s story Read the Full Post

Other Related Content

IVC Filter Lawsuits Against C.R. Bard Continue to Move Forward
On October 29, 2015, the first scheduling conference was held where the Court addressed a number of issues. Read the Full Post

Missouri IVC Filter Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against C.R. Bard, On September 28, 2015, a wrongful death lawsuit, filed by a St. Louis woman, alleges that her husband’s death was due to complications with a Bard IVC filter.

Bard IVC Filter Lawsuits Centralized in MDL
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has decided to consolidate all pending IVC filter cases against C.R. Bard, Inc. and Bard Peripheral Vascular. Read the Full Post


What are IVC filters?

Blood clots that develop in the veins of the leg or pelvis occasionally break up and large pieces can travel to the lungs and heart. Inferior vena cava filters, also known as IVC filters, are cage-like devices that are designed to prevent clots from traveling through the vena cava vein to these organs.

IVC filters are implanted in patients who have an increased risk of developing blood clots in the legs and cannot be successfully treated by other methods, which include patients:

  • Diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
  • With pulmonary embolus
  • Who are trauma victims
  • Who are immobile
  • Who have recently had surgery or delivered a baby

IVC Filter Complications

Studies have shown that these filters can potentially break into pieces causing life-threatening complications that can result in strokes, embolisms and death.

Complications can include:

  • Device migration where the device may become ineffective or erode into the body
  • Device fracture where pieces break off and travel to the heart or lungs
  • Device perforation
  • Tilting of the device
  • The inability to retrieve the device

The Western Journal of Emergency Medicine has calculated that 40% of all IVC filters will fracture within 5.5 years.

If you have an IVC filter implanted, it is recommended that you check with your doctor to determine the brand and whether it should be removed.


FDA Safety Concerns

In 2010, the FDA issued a safety communications warning regarding retrievable IVC filters. The FDA’s warning stated that hundreds of adverse event reports had been received since 2005 and that the filters posed risks of filter fracture, device migration and organ perforation. The FDA went on to recommend that implanting physicians and clinicians responsible for the ongoing care of patients with retrievable IVC filters consider removing them when the patient no longer needed protection from pulmonary embolism.

The FDA updated its safety communication on May 6, 2014 with recently published research; however, no new safety concerns were added to this update.

The FDA recommends that if an IVC filter is implanted in a patient, the device be left in only until the risk of pulmonary embolism subsides; then the device should be removed to minimize risk to the patient.

Disturbing Questions Raised About FDA Clearance of C.R. Bard Recovery Filter

In a 2-part series, NBC Nightly News correspondent Stephanie Goss spoke with Kay Fuller, a veteran regulatory specialist C.R. Bard hired to help secure FDA clearance for its Recovery filter after its initial application was rejected. According to Ms. Fuller, she was “concerned there were going to be problems with this product.”

Watch Part 2: Safety of C.R. Bard IVC Filter


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