Bard IVC Filter Trial: Potential Claims Clipped By Az. Judge

Bard IVC Filter Trial: Potential Claims Clipped By Az. Judge

Introduction

An Arizona federal judge trimmed claims made by a plaintiff involved in the lawsuit against C.R. Bard’s IVC filter stating that the plaintiff cannot be awarded for the possibility of a heart arrhythmia condition likely to take place in the future. This is the third C.R. Bard bellwether trial over the alleged injuries caused by Bard’s IVC filters.

Judge David Campbell, presiding over the Bard multidistrict litigation (MDL), narrowed down the claims by a plaintiff, considering an expert's testimony who indicates an arrhythmia was likely to occur and not sure to occur. The judge granted in part a motion for judgment as a matter of law filed by C.R. Bard. The plaintiff was implanted with Bard’s G2X Blood vessel filter in 2011 to treat her deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, which was eventually removed in 2014 as the device fractured and caused internal injuries to her.

More than 3,800 lawsuits are pending against the manufacturer following reports of device breakage and tissue perforation. A multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2641; In Re: Bard IVC Filters Products Liability Litigation) was created on August 17, 2015, in the United States District Court District of Arizona, presided over by Judge David G. Campbell for centralized pretrial proceedings.

Last month, in an order issued, Senior Judge David Campbell, overlooking C.R. Bard IVC Filter litigation, denied a motion filed by a plaintiff to exclude evidence linked to the device instructions from the next bellwether trial.