$926K Awarded By Jury in IVC Filter Lawsuit Against Bard

A federal jury in Portland, Oregon has awarded nearly $1 million to a man whose vena cava was perforated by a Bard Eclipse IVC filter, after finding the small device intended to catch blood clots was negligently designed, and that the manufacturer failed to warn patients and the medical community about the potential risks.

C.R. Bard has faced more than 8,000 IVC filter lawsuits in recent years, each involving similar allegations plaintiffs suffered painful and life-threatening complications after receiving Bard Eclipse, Recovery, G2 and other similar products with a retrievable design.

The small, spider-like filters are implanted into the inferior vena cava to prevent blood clots from traveling to the lungs and causing a pulmonary embolism. However, plaintiffs allege design defects cause the devices to move out of position, puncture internal organs or fracture, causing small pieces to travel throughout the body.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in complaints filed throughout the federal court system, the Bard IVC filter cases were consolidated as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in 2015, with U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell presiding over coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings. However, after settlements were reached to resolve most cases, Judge Campbell began remanding individual claims to U.S. District Courts nationwide for separate trial dates.

A case brought by Justin Peterson recently went before a jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, involving allegations that Peterson suffered damage to his vena cava and duodenum when a Bard Eclipse filter failed. As result, Peterson suffered severe bleeding and required additional surgery to repair the damage, and the filter was removed in 2015.

Following presentation of evidence in the case, a jury determined on Friday that Bard was negligent in designing the Eclipse filter and failed to warn about the potential health risks associated with migration and perforations, awarding Peterson $926,000 in damages.

While the outcome will not have a binding impact on several hundred cases still not settled or resolved, it does provide a signal for how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony which will be presented during trials likely to be held nationwide in the coming months and years.

In addition to the cases filed against Bard, nearly 4,000 Cook IVC filter lawsuits are still pending in a separate MDL, raising nearly identical allegations that devices sold by this competing manufacturer carry similar design defects. In February 2019, an Indiana jury found that Cook Medical should be required to pay $3 million in compensatory damages, and a steady stream of additional cases are expected to go before juries if settlements are not reached in those claims.