Bard IVC Filter Litigation Continues to Grow, With New Filling in Missouri

Published on December 2, 2015 by Sandy Liebhard

A new IVC filter lawsuit filed late last month alleges that the failure of C.R. Bard, Inc.’s G2 inferior vena cava (IVC) filter left a Missouri woman with alarming injuries. Among other things, the Plaintiff charges that the G2 was defectively designed, despite Bard’s assurances that it offered “enhanced fracture resistance” and “increased migration resistance” compared to its competitors.

G2 IVC Filter Allegations

According to the November 24^th filing in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, the woman was implanted with the G2 IVC filter in September 2008 to prevent the formation of a dangerous type of blood clot called a pulmonary embolism. When the filter was removed, her doctors discovered that one of its struts had fractured, migrated and become embedded in her back. As a result, the Plaintiff claims that she has incurred significant medical expenses and has endured pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, permanent disability and other damages.

The lawsuit points out that the G2 device was a successor to another Bard product, the Recovery IVC filter. That device was brought to market in 2003, but replaced by the G2 in 2004. This past September, a two-part investigative report aired by NBC Nightly News revealed that the Recovery filter had been linked to more than 300 adverse events, including at least 27 fatalities. NBC News also uncovered a confidential study commissioned by Bard in 2004 that suggested the Recovery IVC filter was associated with higher rates of death, fracture and movement compared to its competitors.

Among other things, the Missouri lawsuit accuses Bard of misstating the failure rates for both the G2 and Recovery retrievable IVC filters. “Data establishes that the failure rates of the Recovery Filter and G2 Filter are/were exceedingly higher than the rate that [Bard defendants] have in the past, and currently continue to publish to the medical community and members of the public,” the complaint states “Further, [Bard defendants] were aware or should have been aware that the Recovery Filter and G2 Filter have substantially higher failure rates than do other similar products on the market, yet failed to warn consumers of this fact.”

Bard IVC Filter Litigation

Dozens of IVC filter lawsuits are now pending in U.S. courts, all of which involve serious injuries and deaths that are alleged to have been caused by C.R. Bard’s Recovery and G2 devices. Earlier this year, all federally-filed Bard IVC filter cases were consolidated in the U.S. District Court, District of Arizona, for the purposes of coordinated pretrial proceeding. The Missouri lawsuit, as well as any G2 and Recovery claims filed in federal courts in the future, will likely be transferred to the litigation underway in Arizona.