In the first bellwether trial of the Bard IVC Filter litigation, a federal jury ruled against the manufacturer C. R. Bard. On March 30, 2018, jurors in Phoenix ordered Bard to pay $1.6 million in compensatory damages to Plaintiff Sherr-Una Booker, who was harmed by an inferior vena cava (IVC) filter made by C. R. Bard. Howard L. Nations of The Nations Law Firm was a member of the trial team and represented Ms. Booker in Court. In the trial that lasted more than 2 weeks, the jury decided that Bard is 80% liable for Ms. Booker’s injuries. Bard was also ordered to pay an additional $2 million in punitive damages, taking the jury only 16 minutes to reach their decision.
This is one of several thousand lawsuits filed against the New Jersey-based Bard Company, the first IVC trial against Bard, and only the second trial against an IVC filter manufacturer, the first being a case against Cook Medical last November in Florida.
In Ms. Booker’s case, the IVC filter tilted, perforated her vena cava, broke apart, and pieces of the metal device then traveled to her spine and heart. As a result, she underwent open-heart surgery in 2014 to repair the damage and attempt to remove the broken filter parts. They were unable to remove a piece of the filter near her heart and it remains there today, leaving Ms. Booker with the ever constant fear that at any moment the piece of metal could move again and cause an imminent risk of death.
WHAT IS AN IVC FILTER?
IVC filters (inferior vena cava filters) are implanted in the vena cava, the largest vein in the body, which carries de-oxygenated blood to the right atrium of the heart and to the lungs. The implants are used in patients for various conditions, namely deep vein thrombosis in the legs. These devices are intended to prevent blood clots from breaking off and migrating to the organs such as the heart, brain and lungs, where blood clots settle and can become life-threatening.
If you or someone you know may have developed complications after IVC implantation, please contact our offices at (800) 269-3050 or fill out this form for a free case evaluation.
