An IVC filter trial against C.R. Bard, a popular manufacturer of the IVC device, has led to a claim that the manufacturer of the device owes more than $3.6 million to an injured party.
A federal jury in Phoenix involved in the IVC filter trial gave $2 million in punitive damage costs and $2 million in compensatory damages to a victim who claimed that the IVC filter broke apart inside her body and that she was never warned of the side effects, putting her at serious risk of complications and problems.
The IVC filter trial jury identified that the device maker was responsible for up to 80 percent of the harm caused, leading to around $3.6 million in damages. This was considered a bellwether IVC filter trial following several hours of deliberations.
The jury also identified that Bard was not liable for strict product liability, failure to warn, negligent design or strict product liability design defect. However, the jury did determine that Bard negligently failed to warn and that the plaintiff sustained significant harm.
The plaintiff in the IVC filter trial was 37 years old at the time that she had a Bard G2 filter implanted. She claims that she was never warned about the risk of the Bard device breaking apart inside her and migrating throughout her body.
The jury also attributed 20 percent of the fault in the IVC filter case to a radiologist who failed to flag a broken piece of the filter back in 2009.
Ultimately, the plaintiff’s injuries developed to the point that she required open heart surgery. The jury also identified that a 2014 procedure engaged in by a surgeon who attempted to retrieve filter pieces with only a portion of those removed from her body was not a cause of injury.
There’s currently an MDL IVC filter trial that includes more than 3,600 plaintiffs across the country who have experienced similar problems and challenges.
A handful of early bellwether cases are being used to streamline the discovery process and to identify jury’s interpretations of the problems.
The IVC bellwether trial began with allegations from the plaintiff that there was a simple fix for many of the complications with the medical device that should have prevented it from going to market until those were corrected.
Doctors involved in the trial in plaintiffs’ cases said that they were never told that the device was dangerous and that parts or all of it should have been removed before it caused irreversible damage.
Many of these cases have been filed by plaintiffs who allege similar injuries and say that the manufacturer is responsible for allowing a dangerous device on the market to begin with.
These plaintiffs say the medical device maker put patients lives at risk because they were not even aware of the side effects that they should look out for when experiencing problems after the device was implanted.
If you have been seriously injured as a result of the IVC filter, you may be eligible to file an IVC filter lawsuit. Contact the experienced attorneys at McDonald Worley today for a free case review.
Disclaimer: McDonald Worley is not representing the plaintiff in this lawsuit.