AngioDynamics Port Catheter Problems Led to Septic Shock: Lawsuit

Oklahoma man says design failures involving the use of barium sulfate allowed dangerous bacteria to grow, leading to a fatal port catheter infection for his wife.

Medical device manufacturer AngioDynamics faces a wrongful death lawsuit, alleging its Smart Port CT port catheter was defectively designed, and prone to allowing bacteria to emerge and cause life-threatening infections.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Kristopher Taylor in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District for California on December 1, pursuing product liability claims individually and on behalf of his deceased wife, Melissa Taylor.

AngioDynamic’s Smart Port CT belongs to a line of port catheters, consisting of an injection port and polyurethane or silicon catheter. They are designed to provide a way for doctors to give patients repeated drug and fluid injections needed for some medical treatments, including chemotherapy.

However, the Smart Port is one of several models of implantable port catheters that have come under scrutiny in recent years over various dangerous device failures, including microfractures that lead to infections, blood clots, device migration and the need for corrective surgery. This has led to a growing number of AngioDynamics port catheter lawsuits and Bard PowerPort lawsuits filed in federal courts nationwide.

Like other claims, Taylor’s lawsuit criticizes the use of barium sulfate, a compound added to the catheter material to make it visible on X-rays. Plaintiffs allege that excessive concentrations of barium sulfate weaken the polymer structure, making the ports brittle and prone to cracking or fracturing once implanted in the body.

According to the lawsuit, Melissa Taylor, of Oklahoma, was implanted with a Smart Port CT in August 2017 for chemotherapy. However, approximately two weeks after the implant procedure, Taylor was admitted to the intensive care unit due to acute hypoxemic respiratory failure.

She was diagnosed with septic shock caused by a port catheter infection, which led to her death, the lawsuit claims. The manufacturers had a duty to adequately test the implant and warn the medical community about the potential risks, her husband states.

“Defendants advertised, promoted, marketed, sold, and distributed the Smart Port CT as a safe medical device when Defendant knew or should have known the Smart Port CT was not safe for its intended purposes.”

– Kristopher Taylor et al. v. AngioDynamics et al

The lawsuit presents claims of negligence, design defect, failure to warn, breach of warranty, fraudulent concealment, violations of the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act, and wrongful death.

AngioDynamics Port Catheter Lawsuits

Taylor’s complaint joins nearly 300 other AngioDynamics port catheter lawsuits filed in federal courts nationwide, which have been consolidated in the Southern District of California before U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Judge Ohta has announced plans to hold a series of “bellwether” early test trials that will test how juries respond to these allegations. She ordered both sides to select nine cases each, creating a pool of 18 lawsuits representing the range of reported injuries, including infections, fractures and blood clots. From that group, eight lawsuits will move forward as potential bellwether trials to gauge how juries evaluate the evidence and expert testimony.

While these early trial dates will not be binding on other port catheter claims, they could have significant influence on any potential AngioDynamics port catheter settlement negotiations. However, if the bellwether trials end without a settlement being reached, Judge Ohta may remand the cases back to their original courts for individual trial dates.