A Connecticut woman has filed a lawsuit against C.R. Bard because parts of their IVC filter migrated to her lungs.

For many people who cannot tolerate anticoagulant medications, commonly called blood thinners, an IVC filter helps prevent blood clots from turning deadly.

Available as implants since 1979, IVC filters are small cage-like structures that capture blood clots before the clots can travel to the lungs, where they could result in a pulmonary embolism.

Several brands have come under fire for being defective, leading to pieces of the IVC filters breaking off and traveling to other parts of the body where they become embedded and can do harm.

IVC Filter Migrated to Lungs

In October 2008, Patricia had a Bard G2 IVC filter implanted in her vena cava artery in order to prevent blood clots from traveling to her lungs.

Unfortunately, parts of the filter broke apart, and rather than a blood clot, the pieces of the IVC filter migrated to lungs itself, which prompted her to file a lawsuit.

This became apparent when she suffered severe pain in June 2014. The suit claims that some of her injuries are permanent.

The lawsuit also claims that C.R. Bard should have known the IVC filters were prone to bending, metal fatigue, fracture and migration of parts.

C.R. Bard IVC Filter Problems

IVC filters by C.R. Bard have been reportedly prone to breakage. Parts of an IVC filter migrated to lungs, heart, or other organs can cause ongoing medical issues for patients. Sometimes the IVC filter pieces embed in such a risky area of the body, and doctors prefer to leave the pieces alone.

One woman who had a piece of an IVC filter pierce her heart is on blood thinners for the rest of her life because surgery was too risky.

Other patients undergo multiple surgeries to repair the damage done by traveling IVC filter parts.

C.R. Bard has been accused of negligence because the company was aware the filter systems were defective and unreasonably dangerous. The company is also accused of continuing to sell the filter systems even after they knew that weakened parts could break off inside the body.

NBC News reported in 2015 that C.R. Bard’s Recovery IVC filters were associated with 27 deaths and hundreds of problems. The company replaced the Recovery with a new version, the G2, that C.R. Bard knew had similar flaws soon after it went on the market.

C.R. Bard internal documents from 2010 show that the G2 series filters had more fractures and were more apt to see pieces of IVC filter migrated to lungs, heart and other organs, than any of its competitors.

Today, C.R. Bard no longer sells the G2 filter, but that is little consolation for Patricia, who continues to suffer lost wages and is unable to carry on her regular daily activities.

The IVC Filter Lawsuit is Case No. 2:16-cv-02362 in Superior Court Windham J.D., Pawcatuck, Connecticut.