Chemotherapy Injection Port Lawsuit Blames AngioDynamics SmartPort for Wrongful Death

Woman died just months after being implanted with a Smart Port chemotherapy injection port that became infected, the family indicates.

The family of a California woman has filed a lawsuit blaming an infection and complications that resulted in her death on an allegedly defective design of AngioDynamic’s SmartPort, which was implanted to inject chemotherapy drugs during cancer treatments.

The complaint (PDF) was brought on March 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California by Frank Whittemore, on behalf of his late wife Nancy Whittemore and their children, Nicholas Whittemore and Lisa Piancone. The lawsuit names AngioDynamics Inc. and Navilyst Medical Inc. as defendants.

AngioDynamics manufactures a line of chemotherapy injection port implants, including the SmartPort, Vertex Port and Xcela Port. These devices are designed to provide long-term access to a patient’s bloodstream for repeated delivery of medications and fluids, such as during chemotherapy, without requiring a new needle stick for each treatment.

Also known as totally implantable vascular access devices (TIVADs), or port catheters, the systems consist of a small injection port placed beneath the skin that connects to a flexible catheter, allowing medication to be delivered directly into a vein.

However, in recent years port catheters by both AngioDynamics and C.R. Bard have come under intense scrutiny and growing litigation, with nearly 350 AngioDynamics port catheter lawsuits filed in courts nationwide, alongside another 2,800 Bard PowerPort lawsuits.

Although filed against different manufacturers, each of the claims raises similar allegations, asserting the devices were defectively designed and manufactured, leaving them prone to fractures, migration, infections and premature failure, often requiring additional medical treatment or surgery to remove the device.

According to the lawsuit, Nancy Whittemore underwent SmartPort implantation in January 2024, but became infected shortly after the procedure.

The family indicates the infection led to Whittemore suffering shock, bacteremia, weakness, malaise and cardiac arrest. She was admitted to the hospital from February 19 through March 18, 2024, and died on April 20 of that year.

The lawsuit alleges that AngioDynamics knew about potential safety risks associated with its chemotherapy injection ports but failed to adequately warn patients or the medical community.

According to the complaint, those risks stem from the company’s use of barium sulfate during the catheter manufacturing process. While the additive is intended to make the devices visible during imaging scans, plaintiffs claim it can weaken the polyurethane material over time. As the catheter degrades, the lawsuits allege it may fracture, allowing bacteria to enter the bloodstream or causing pieces of the device to break off, which can lead to pulmonary embolism, infections or device migration.

“Defendants provided incomplete, insufficient, and misleading information to physicians in order to increase the number of physicians using SmartPort for the purpose of increasing their sales. By so doing, Defendants caused the dissemination of inadequate and misleading information to patients, including the Decedent.

– Frank Whittemore et al v. AngioDynamics Inc. et al

The lawsuit presents claims of negligence, manufacturing defect, failure to warn, breach of express warranty, fraudulent concealment, wrongful death and survival action.

AngioDynamics Port Catheter Lawsuits

The Whittemore complaint will be consolidated with other AngioDynamics port catheter lawsuits in the Southern District of California before U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta, as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL) for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Judge Ohta has ordered the parties to prepare to hold “bellwether” trials, which are early test cases designed to see how juries digest the strengths and weaknesses of each side’s case. Plaintiffs and defendants have been ordered to select nine AngioDynamics port catheter lawsuits each, for a total of 18, to serve as an initial bellwether pool, from which the first early test cases will be selected. The selections are due by June 5, 2026.

While the results of these bellwether trials are not binding on other claims, they will be closely watched to see how juries interpret evidence and testimony that would be repeated throughout hundreds of AngioDynamics port catheter lawsuits if they should go to trial.

However, if the parties are unable to reach an AngioDynamics port catheter lawsuit settlement or other resolution, the judge is likely to begin remanding cases back to their originating districts for individual trial dates.