Patients Have Brought Actions Against Cook Medical for IVC Filter Injuries

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious personal injury caused by a the installation, operation, or removal of an IVC (inferior vena cava) filter, you or a loved one may be entitled to compensation for injuries caused by the filter. Cook Medical, LLC—a manufacturer of medical devices—has produced a range of IVC filters, including the Cook Celect Platinum Filter, a type of implanted filter that surgeons can retrieve after installation. Faulty filters have led to serious medical complications for patients who have brought legal actions against the device maker and medical professionals.

Patients in actions against Cook Medical, LLC, have alleged that, instead of eliminating clots and preventing pulmonary emboli, the company’s IVC filters have caused emboli to develop and have led to other serious medical complications. Persons residing in North Carolina who believe they have been injured by an IVC filter should contact one of our experienced personal injury attorneys to determine whether a claim for compensation may be filed.

In the human body, deoxygenated blood flows from the middle and lower part of the body through the inferior vena cava (IVC)—a large vein—into the right atrium of the heart. An IVC filter can prevent clots from entering the heart or other critical organs by dissolving or stopping it in the IVC, where it can be broken down into smaller pieces. Since the Cook Celect Platinum filter is placed temporarily, a medical professional can retrieve it at a medically appropriate time. Temporary IVC filters can help patients who are suffering from:

• Failure of anticoagulant medication to successfully treat thromboembolic diseases;
• Pulmonary thromboembolism due to an inability to ingest anticoagulant medication;
• Massive pulmonary embolism or emboli where fewer benefits from conventional medication and therapy can be realized;
• Recurrent, chronic pulmonary embolism or emboli where conventional therapy is contraindicated or has failed.

Most medical professionals treat pulmonary emboli with medication. While medication is often the safest treatment option, it is not always effective at treating or preventing emboli.

Cook Medical developed its Gunther Tulip filter to trap blood clots that could travel to the heart, brain, or lungs. Surgeons anchor the device in the inferior vena cava through four primary and eight secondary struts. These struts expand to create a net that captures blood clots. The nets hold the blood clots securely in place until the clots break apart, preventing the clots from spreading to the brain.

These retrievable filters are used commonly throughout Europe They have not obtained premarket approval by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the United States. The FDA has received several complaints regarding injuries that have arisen from defective IVC filters. In some cases, the filters have fractured and broken apart inside patients’ bodies. In other cases, the filters have traveled throughout a patient’s body and have become embedded in other parts of the body, puncturing organs. In addition, studies have shown that many IVC filters create dangerous perforations in a patient’s vein wall.

In North Carolina, victims of medical malpractice have the right to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for injuries proximately caused by a medical professional’s negligence. In some cases, doctors or other medical professionals may miss the symptoms of IVC filter complications. The symptoms caused by pulmonary emboli are often similar to the symptoms caused by a failing IVC filter.

Despite this similarity in symptoms, medical professionals have a duty to meet the standard of care. When they fail to properly diagnose a condition, and the failure causes more severe injuries, a victim may bring a claim for compensation against the negligent medical professional.

In addition to medical-professional negligence actions, victims injured by companies that have manufactured defective IVC filters may pursue claims under North Carolina’s products liability statute.

Under North Carolina law, persons filing personal injury lawsuits must file their claims within a certain time period, called the statute of limitations. Those who do not file in time lose the ability to file a claim. Under North Carolina law, plaintiffs only have three (3) years from the date of a medical mistake to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. When a medical mistake is not readily apparent, and the symptoms of the mistake manifest at a time later than the mistake, Plaintiffs may have a limited window of time to bring a claim after discovery of the mistake.

The best thing you can do if you or a loved one has been injured as a result of IVC filter treatment is contact one of our experienced personal injury attorneys today. Contact our law firm today to schedule your free, initial consultation.