Sherr-Una Booker, 37, was implanted with a Bard G2 blood filter on June 21, 2007. The blood filter was intended to prevent blood clots. It broke apart, spreading metal fragments that had to be removed from her heart. She required open-heart surgery.
These inferior vena cava (IVC) filters — like the one implanted in Booker’s heart — have been implanted in thousands of patients around the country although there is little evidence that they provide much of a benefit. The filters are described as little wire cages that are designed to catch blood clots. There is some evidence that suggests that the IVCs create more clots than they actually prevent.
The many lawsuits that are pending allege that the IVC filters are negligently designed and break apart over time. The fractured IVCs can cause serious injuries like those sustained by Booker.
There are many lawsuits that claim damages and death against the IVC filter manufacturers, including C.R. Bard and Cordis. Other companies also make IVC filters.
In the Booker case, the trial was held in Phoenix, Ariz. The jury’s verdict included punitive damages. The punitive damages part of the verdict shows that the jury believed that C.R. Bard was not just negligent in the design of the IVC that was implanted in Booker, but that company officials conducted themselves in such a way that they were found to be consciously disregarding public safety and putting profits ahead of safety. That is a common theme of cases alleging bad conduct of a corporation.
80% of the verdict was for punitive damages, meaning that $1.6 million was for the failure to warn of the dangers of the IVC device.
The attorney successfully representing Booker in this lawsuit was Robin Lourie. The Booker case was the first of the so-called bellwether trials conducted in the federal court in Phoenix. There are thousands of other cases involving the Bard IVC filters. These cases have been organized in the multi-district litigation (MDL) in the federal courts.
According to the report of the Booker case, there are some 3,639 pending lawsuits for injuries caused by the seven different models of Bard IVC filters. These cases are all being handled by a U.S. District Court judge in Phoenix.
In fact, there are about 3,826 cases involving IVC filters made by Cook Medical Inc. that are pending in the federal district court in Indiana. The first bellwether case that was tried there ended in a verdict for Cook Medical and against the IVC patient. There will undoubtedly be other bellwether trials to come
Sherr-Una Booker v. C.R. Bard, Inc. and Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc., 16-cv-474. The multi-district litigation cases in the U.S. District Court in the District of Arizona is listed under the caption In re: Bard IVC Filters Product Liability Litigation, 15-02641 (Phx.) (DGC).
Kreisman Law Offices has been successfully handling interior vena cava filter defect lawsuits, pharmaceutical defect cases and product liability lawsuits for individuals, families and loved ones who have been injured, harmed or killed by the negligence of a product manufacturer and distributor for more than 40 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Naperville, Lombard, Libertyville, Lincolnshire, North Riverside, River Grove, Arlington Heights, Bedford Park, Chicago (Austin, South Shore, Bronzeville, Hyde Park, Kenwood, Lawndale, Englewood, Bucktown, Old Town), Bellwood, Elmhurst, Wilmette, Highwood, Blue Island and South Holland, Ill.
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