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Bard IVC filters were marketed as a way to prevent blood clots, protect patients, and save lives. Instead, many patients found themselves with debilitating and life-threatening complications such as bleeding, perforation, blood clots, and cardiac events. Some patients even lost their lives from these complications. If you or your family member suffered health complications after receiving a Bard IVC filter, you may have a legal right to a recovery. You need to talk to a Bard IVC filter lawsuit lawyer.
John Foy & Associates can help you. For over 20 years we have helped the families of patients take on big medical companies and win. We charge you nothing if we don’t get you money. Give us a call—and consult with a top lawyer for FREE. Call us at 404-400-4000 and get your free consultation today.
What is an IVC filter? Why are they used?
IVC stands for inferior vena cava. The IVC is the largest blood vessel that connects the heart and the lower body. But in some circumstances, it’s possible for blood clots to form inside a persons body—and this often happens in the lower extremities (the legs). If a clot can move up the IVC and reach the heart, it can cause a cardiac emergency and potentially death. An IVC filter is a small medical device placed inside the IVC vessel, which acts to screen or “filter” any clots so that they cannot reach the heart.
Of course, not everyone faces a high risk of blood clots. Risk is highest in certain groups:
- Pregnant women
- Patients who have undergone surgery, or who require extended bed rest
- Anyone who has suffered from a stroke
- Smokers
- Obese individuals
- Some individuals have a genetic risk for blood clots
Even for these groups, IVC filters aren’t the only way to protect against blood clots. It’s much more common to give a patient blood thinners, which prevent clotting in the first place. But some patients can’t take blood thinners, and in those cases an IVC filter may be necessary. Doctors generally treat IVC filters as a last resort.
What is allegedly wrong with Bard’s IVC filters?
The manufacturer CR Bard started marketing its first IVC filter in 2002. Since that time, a number of potential risks have come to light. Bard IVC filters, and IVC filters in general, can actively harm a patient—or even potentially kill them. This happens when the device fails in any of several ways:
- The device migrates. This is a medical term for a filter that coms out of place and starts moving through the blood vessel, toward the heart.
- The device erodes into the IVC vessel. The filter can simply wear through the walls of the vessel around it.
- Perforation. This is when the filter punctures through the vessel and into surrounding tissue.
- Fragmentation. If the device breaks apart, small pieces of it can move through the body, damaging the IVC vessel or even becoming lodged in the heart.
The results of these malfunctions can be bleeding, cardiac emergencies, or even death. They can also lead to deep vein thrombosis, or a blood clot blocking blood flow—the very condition they were designed to control.
Are Bard’s IVC filters different from other IVC filters?
The malfunctions above can happen with many brands of IVC filter—not just Bard’s. However, Bard’s IVC filters have consistently been implicated as particularly problematic. For example, one doctor who has removed over 1,000 faulty blood filters states that Bard’s are the most common. An NBC news report also found that a Bard device, the Recovery IVC filter, had higher risks than other brands. And a confidential internal review of Bard’s own dat concluded the same thing.
In fact, even the next-generation IVC filter that was designed to replace the G2 had problems—so many that one Bard executive questioned why anyone would use it at all.
Nonetheless, Bard never recalled their IVC filters. When it became clear that their Recovery filter was causing too many complications, they stopped marketing it in 2005 just in time to introduce the newer G2, which had a similar design and many of the same problems.
As a result, countless patients were harmed—and many of those cases could have been prevented. And not every patient survived their IVC filter failure. By NBC’s count, Bard IVC filters are associated with at least 27 deaths.
I had a Bard IVC filter and I suffered a failure. What are my rights?
If you or someone you love had an IVC filter, you may be entitled to a financial recovery. We are currently speaking with patients who had any model of Bard IVC filter from 2002 onward—or who aren’t sure which manufacturer made their filter. If you or your loved one suffered migration, perforation, deep vein thrombosis, or any other health issue that may have been related to the filter, please talk to a lawyer. Bard may be liable for what happened to you.
Your financial recovery could include damages such as:
- The full cost of your medical bills
- Any lost wages or lost work time
- Pain and suffering related to the filter
- Damages for any serious personal losses, such as a long-term impact on your health
Likewise, if your loved one passed away after receiving an IVC filter, you or your family may be able to recover these damages and others in a wrongful death claim.
Money cannot restore what any patient has lost—or a lost loved one. It can help you rebuild a life. Talk to a lawyer and get the help you need.
Bard Recovery IVC Filter Lawsuit Lawyer
From 2002 to 2005, thousands of patients were given a blood filter known as the Bard Recovery IVC filter. This filter was supposed to protect them, by preventing blood clots from reaching the heart. Instead, in many cases the Recovery IVC filter became a threat in its own right—breaking apart, blocking the blood flow, migrating through the body or even puncturing surrounding tissue. Manufacturer C.R. Bard is not being held liable through lawsuits by a number of patients and their families. If you or your loved one suffered a complication after receiving the Recovery IVC filter, legal help is available. You need to talk to a Bard Recovery IVC filter lawsuit lawyer
John Foy & Associates knows how to help. We have fought for patients and their families for over 20 years—and we know how to win, even against big medical corporations like Bard. We never charge you anything unless we can recover money for you. Let us give you a FREE consultation. Call us at 404-400-4000 and get your free consultation today.
How is the Bard Recovery IVC filter supposed to work?
The Recovery is a type of filter that helps prevent blood clots from reaching the heart. On its own, it resembles a tiny metal spider. Once inserted into a blood vessel known as the inferior vena cava (IVC), the “legs” of the spider brace against the blood vessel walls and it acts like a basket or net. Clots drift into it and stay clot as they pass through the bloodstream.
That makes IVC filters like the Recovery potentially life-saving devices, especially for individuals who are particularly prone to deep vein thrombosis (DVT)—a condition where blood clots form in the veins of the legs. These clots can work their way up the body through the IVC until they reach the heart, causing life-threatening heart attacks.
But even for individuals at high risk of DVT, a filter is not the only option. Blood thinning medications can be used to prevent clots, without the surgery required by an IVC filter. In general, doctors only use an IVC filter in emergencies or situations where a patient cannot take blood thinners.
Unfortunately, even for those patients, we now know that the filter can potentially do more harm than good.
What went wrong with the Bard Recovery IVC filter?
We now know that there were two main problems with the Recovery. The first is that it has a high risk of malfunctioning. This can involve the filter moving, breaking, or hurting the surrounding tissue. For example:
- Fragmentation of the Recovery. When the device breaks or “fragments,” pieces of it move through the bloodstream. These pieces can puncture the blood vessel wall or end up in the heart.
- Perforation. Perforation means that the device, or a piece of it, breaks through the walls of the blood vessel and pokes into other tissue or organs. It can be extremely painful and dangerous, and lead to internal bleeding.
- Embolization. Embolization refers to blocking the blood vessel. In other words, the Recovery filter or fragments of it can end up preventing blood from getting to the heart. This effectively defeats the purpose of the device—and can be deadly.
- Migration. Once implanted, the Recovery filter is supposed to stay still. But it can tilt or come loose and end up moving through the blood vessel. This increases the changes of embolization and other serious complications.
All of these risks are compounded by the second problem with the Bard Recovery: it’s not easily retrievable. Bard intended for the Recovery to stay in the body long-term. That means that surgery to remove a faulty filter can be difficult and risky on its own. Today, doctors are advised to use retrievable short-term IVC filters, and leave them in only 29 to 54 days at most.
These problems aren’t unique to the Bard Recovery filter. But the Recovery does stand out as one of the riskier IVC filters, with very high rates of complications. In fact, a 2010 study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that a 25% of the Bard Recovery patients in their test group suffered migration or embolization. That’s a staggering 1 out of 4 patients.
What can I do if I was harmed by a Bard Recovery IVC filter?
A number of patients have already brought forward lawsuits against manufacturer C.R. Bard related to the Recovery devices. If you believe you were harmed because of your IVC filter, or if you think it may have been a factor in a health event you suffered, you could have a strong claim. And you could have the right to a substantial financial settlement.
Your settlement could include three types of damages:
- Recovering all your costs. Many patients struggle with steep medical bills, months of lost work time, or an inability to ever return to work. Legally, you may have a right to recover all of these costs—a 100% reimbursal of every cent.
- Your personal suffering. The effects of a defective IVC filter can be devastating. You may have had months of pain, and required additional surgery. You may have suffered a heart attack or blood clot and may even have permanent or long-term changes in your life. The law allows you to recover money for these losses. In some cases, these damages can triple or quadruple the amount you recover.
- Wrongful death. Tragically, not every patient has survived their complications with the Bard Recovery. If your loved one passed away, you can recover many of the damages above as well as final expenses,
We don’t believe money can ever change what happened—especially when a human life is involved. The courts use this money to try to offset the impact of these tragedies, and help you and your family move forward with financial stability. This money is your right. Take the time to talk to a lawyer.
What if I don’t know whether my IVC filter was a Bard Recovery or not?
That’s okay. Our legal team knows how to pull records, find out what type of filter was used in your procedure, and assemble the documentation to prove it. We can get you answers even if you’re not sure. And the Bard Recovery isn’t the only IVC filter implicated in some lawsuits—you have rights if you were the victim of any defective medical product, no matter who made it.
Talk to a Bard IVC Filter Lawyer for Free
At John Foy & Associates, we always work for the victims—never the medical companies. And we charge nothing if we can’t get you money. Let us get you the answers you need with a FREE consultation. Contact us at 404-400-4000 or fill out the form to your right and get your FREE consultation today.