A new lawsuit has been filed against Cook Medical for an implanted dysfunctional and health-endangering Inferior Vena Cava Filter. The woman from Marion County, India, Angela W., who filed the lawsuit, had the IVC Filter surgically implanted in her inferior vena cava on July 30, 2012, at the Indiana University Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Alan Sawchuk and resident surgeons Dr. Hao Vu and Dr. Adam Gracon were the doctors who implanted her the device.
The IVC Filter is a barely-safe medical device (according to the lawsuit) that is implanted by vascular surgeons into the inferior vena cava for the purpose of preventing pulmonary embolism (blood clots). It is meant to catch blood clots and stop them from traveling to the heart or lungs. However, the low-safety profile coming with IVC Filters triggered more than 3,600 currently ongoing lawsuits against Cook Medical.
Regarding the latest IVC Filter Lawsuit, the woman was suffering severe pain in her abdomen and side, a CT scan that was taken on April 27, 2016, revealed that the Celect IVC Filter had gone through her inferior vena cava and was penetrating into her intestines, aorta, and other tissues.
On June 2, 2016, she had the device surgically removed at the Indiana University Methodist Hospital. Through the lawsuit, she accuses Cook Medicals of promoting and selling a dangerous and dysfunctional medical device.
The main concern regarding IVC filters is that they reportedly break inside the patient’s body and their metal parts perforate through the body, damaging the heart, lungs, cause internal bleeding, and pain. They were designed as a measure to be used in high-risk scenarios to prevent blood clots in the inferior vena cava that carries deoxygenated blood into the heart.
As of January 2018, more than 6000 filed cases were pending in federal court against IVC Filter manufacturers. Individuals that claim to have experienced injuries caused by the high-failure-rate PVC Filter implants are demanding compensation for past and future pain and expenses resulting from injuries caused by the filters, and the loss of capacity to earn money amongst others.
