AngioDynamics Xcela Port Lawsuit Alleges Infection, Migration Caused by Defective Catheter Design

Diagnosis of chest wall cellulitis led to discovery that the port catheter had migrated out of position and had to be surgically removed.

A Delaware woman has filed a product liability against the medical device manufacturer AngioDynamics, claiming she was implanted with one of the company’s Xcela port catheters, which then migrated out of position.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Rachel Dinan in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California on August 8. It names the manufacturers, AngioDynamics Inc. and Navilyst Medical Inc. as the defendants.

Dinan claims the company’s line of port catheter implants are defectively designed and that the manufacturers failed to provide adequate warnings to medical professionals or patients so they could be aware of the risk of migration, fractions and infections.

Port Catheter Problems

Port catheters are implantable devices placed beneath the skin to provide long-term access to a patient’s veins for chemotherapy, blood transfusions, medications and other intravenous treatments. The devices consist of an access port connected to a polyurethane catheter, allowing repeated treatments without the need for a new needle stick each time.

However, AngioDynamics and other port manufacturers, including C.R. Bard, currently face hundreds of port catheter lawsuits over claims of bloodstream infections, blood clots, catheter fractures, vascular damage and other serious complications. Plaintiffs allege the design and materials used in the port catheters can cause the material to deteriorate after implantation, creating irregular surfaces where bacteria and blood products may collect and contribute to infections and other problems.

Dinan and other individuals pursuing AngioDynamics port catheter lawsuits maintain the company was aware, or should have been aware, of the potential for these complications but continued selling and promoting the devices without providing adequate warnings to patients and the medical community about the alleged risks.

Port Catheter Migration Allegations

According to Dinan’s lawsuit, she underwent placement of an AngioDynamics Xcela port catheter in July 2016. However, just a couple months later she was diagnosed with chest wall cellulitis, a form of infection.

Doctors examining Dinan discovered that the port had migrated out of position, causing the soft tissues around the port to swell. Between the implant’s migration and resulting infection, they decided to surgically remove the failed implant.

Dinan indicates AngioDynamics knew, or should have known, about the potential risk of failure before she was implanted with the device, and claims the company has downplayed those risks for the sake of retaining profits.

“Defendants advertised, promoted, marketed, sold and distributed the Xcela port as a safe medical device when Defendant knew or should have known the Xcela port was not safe for its intended purposes and that the product could cause serious medical problems. Defendants had sole access to material facts concerning the defective nature of the Xcela port product and its propensity to cause serious and dangerous side effects.”

– Rachel Dinan v. AngioDynamics Inc. et al.

According to Dinan, AngioDynamics has received numerous reports of port catheter failures, including infections and migration, and has intentionally concealed the severity of those reports.

She presents claims of negligence, failure to warn, design defect, breach of warranty and fraudulent concealment.

Port Catheter Lawsuits

Dinan’s claims join hundreds of other AngioDynamics port catheter lawsuits, which have been consolidated before U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta in the Southern District of California. Judge Ohta is leading the litigation through coordinated discovery and addressing common pretrial issues involving allegations that the company marketed defective implantable port systems.

Judge Ohta is eventually expected to order attorneys to identify a limited number of representative claims for early bellwether trials. Although those verdicts will not determine the outcome of other cases, they may provide insight into how juries view recurring evidence and allegations, potentially shaping future AngioDynamics port catheter settlement negotiations.

Similarly, thousands of Bard PowerPort lawsuits are also pending in a separate federal multidistrict litigation before U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell in the District of Arizona. Those lawsuits allege design and manufacturing problems make the implanted catheters prone to fractures, blood clots, infections and other potentially serious injuries.

The first Bard PowerPort bellwether case went before a jury earlier this year leading to an incomplete verdict and the plaintiff seeking a new trial, claiming jurors received improper instructions.

Additional Bard PowerPort bellwether trials are planned throughout 2027. If the test cases and settlement negotiations fail to produce a broader resolution, individual claims could eventually be sent back to their originating federal courts for separate trials.

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