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Woman awarded $34 million over faulty medical device

On Behalf of | Nov 5, 2019 | Personal Injury |

Modern medical technologies save thousands of lives in Georgia and around the U.S. each year. Unfortunately, some new devices have serious design flaws that could harm, or even kill, patients.

For example, in late 2019, a Philadelphia jury awarded a Georgia woman $34 million after a blood clot-catching device failed in her body, endangering her life. According to the lawsuit, surgeons implanted the device, known as the “Option IVC” filter, into one of the woman’s veins in 2010. The filter, which is supposed to be removable, was designed to prevent a pulmonary embolism by catching blood clots as they traveled toward her lungs. However, when doctors tried to remove the device during a three-hour surgery in 2016, they found they couldn’t get it out. As a result, it remained in her body, eventually perforating her inferior vena cava and puncturing her aorta, renal vein and pancreas.

The woman’s lawyers claimed that the device, manufactured by Rex Medical LP, has a design flaw that makes it prone to failure. They also argued that the device may cause her organs to fail if it is left in. During the trial, attorneys for Rex claimed that the surgeons botched the operation and that the woman did not receive necessary follow-up care. More than 700 other people have filed lawsuits against Rex Medical over the filters. The cases have been consolidated into a mass tort program in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

Georgia residents who are harmed by faulty medical devices might find relief by contacting a personal injury law firm about their situation. After assessing the details of the case, attorneys may recommend filing a lawsuit against the device’s manufacturer and other responsible parties. This might result in a financial settlement that compensates the victim for a variety of losses, including medical expenses, loss of income, pain and suffering and mental anguish.