IVC Filters Lawyer
Inferior vena cava (IVC) filters protect thousands of people from debilitating and potentially deadly blood clots. If these clots manage to travel into a person’s lungs, they could cause a lack of blood supply to the lungs that prevent those vital organs from functioning.
While the benefits of an IVC are clear, the installation of IVC filters is not without its risks. Chief among these risks is a flaw in the design of certain IVC filters that could result in extreme complications or even death is present. These defects are so widespread that courts have recognized the ability of plaintiffs to join into mass tort cases to pursue compensation for their losses.
An IVC filters lawyer may be able to help you if you have received an IVC filter and endured serious health complications because of it. Skilled attorneys could help you identify whether the filter you received is one that has a history of defects and if your current medical state is a result of that filter. If so, they could then work to determine if you meet the criteria for existing mass torts or work to establish a new lawsuit on your behalf.
Common Injuries that Result from Defective IVC Filters
An IVC filter has the potential to provide a better quality of life for people with chronic blood clotting problems. These surgical devices serve to break down blood clots in the larger veins before those clots can cause serious obstructions. The filter itself is a cage-like device that a doctor inserts into the inferior vena cava.
It is easy to imagine how a defective design in these filters could result in serious health complications. Unfortunately, courts have long recognized that many IVC filters contain defective designs that result in severe health problems, commonly including:
- Severe pain in the heart or chest
- Perforations to the heart, lungs, or vena cava
- The filter suffering a fracture
- Infection at the insertion site
The makers of an IVC filter that causes injury might be liable if the defective designs resulted in an unnecessary risk to the patient. In general, plaintiffs in these cases must be able to demonstrate how the defective design resulted in an unsafe product and identify an alternative design that would have prevented their injuries.
Proving these cases can be difficult, especially against multi-million-dollar medical device companies. Thankfully, a mass tort claim could help even the odds for people who suffer injuries due to defective IVC filters, as could the assistance of a qualified attorney.
Pursuing a Case Alongside Other Victims
Most personal injuries are the result of a single person experiencing an accident at a single moment in time. However, there are situations where a wrongdoer’s actions affect multiple people who all share similar grievances. When this occurs, those plaintiffs may join their cases into a single lawsuit known as a mass tort.
To qualify as grounds for a mass tort under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, a case must demonstrate that:
- Multiple plaintiffs suffered a harm due to the actions of a single wrongdoer
- Those plaintiffs share materially similar facts that led to their injuries, although those injuries may differ
In the case of IVC filters, a single type of filter may cause injuries in multiple people, al of whom may discover that they all have similar cause for lawsuits against that filter’s maker that all allege defective design. If so, a court may allow those plaintiffs to file a mass tort, meaning they could then share evidence, consult with the same expert witnesses, and even pursue all their claims as a single court case. An IVC filters lawyer could help people better understand the role that a mass tort may play in their IVC filter case.
Working to Help Victims of Defective IVCs
Receiving an IVC filter may seem like a minimally invasive way to control your blood clots. However, even if a doctor does not make a mistake installing such a filter within your body, defects in the design of these filters may result in serious injuries. These could range from infection at the insertion site to constant chest pain, to a fracturing of the filter resulting in infection or even death.
Thousands of patients have had similar experiences with defective IVCs. Fortunately, the law allows you to pool your resources and possibly receive a faster resolution to your claim against negligent medical device manufacturers through a mass tort. Contact an IVC filter lawyer today to explore your options.
