Jury Sides the Defendant in the Second Bard IVC Filter Trial

Jury Sides the Defendant in the Second Bard IVC Filter Trial

Introduction

The second bellwether trial for C.R. Bard's Eclipse IVC Filter ended in the defendant's favor on June 1, 2018, as the Arizona jury found that adequate warning was provided to doctors regarding the possible adverse effects of the IVC filter.

An Inferior vena cava filter (IVC filter), earlier popularly known as Greenfield filter, is a medical device implanted in the inferior vena cava just below the kidneys to capture blood clots, preventing them from reaching the heart and lungs, thereby, safeguarding against life-threatening pulmonary emboli (PE). IVC filters were cleared for use through the 510(k) process since 1976 however, in 2010 the FDA issued a device safety communication after reviewing more than 900 adverse events related to the devices over a period of five years C.R. Bard, Inc. and Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. (collectively, Bard) and Cook Incorporated, Cook Medical LLC, and William Cook Europe ApS (collectively, Cook) are the main manufacturers of retrievable IVC filters. Other manufacturers include Argon Medical Devices, Cordis Corporation, Rex Medical, Johnson & Johnson, ALN, B. Braun Medical, and Rafael Medical.

The verdict was given out in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona presided over by Judge David G. Campbell. The plaintiff was implanted with Bard IVC Eclipse Filter in 2010 to treat recurrent deep vein thrombosis and five years later she developed arm pain and headaches.

On further probe, it was discovered that the filter broke and one of the pieces blocked her right pulmonary artery, which could not be removed by surgeons.

The first bellwether against C.R.Bard concluded with $3.6 million as compensatory and punitive damages to the plaintiff. There are more than 3,800 IVC Filter lawsuits against Bard for not warning about the defective design of the filter. The cases were centralized in 2015 to coordinate the pre-trial proceedings under MDL 2641 (in re Bard IVC Filters Products Liability Litigation) before U.S. District Judge David Campbell.