When to Contact an Attorney for Help
An individual who is experiencing issues with their IVC filter does not need to wait until they have been treated for an injury to contact a lawyer who works with IVC filter cases. There are no nerve endings in the veins in your body. For example, someone can have an IVC filter that is penetrated or perforated all the way through their IVC, their inferior vena cava, and it can be totally asymptomatic.
Looking at the scientific literature, there are articles going back to 2004 and 2007 showing substantial risk. In 2012, there was one where they predicted 100% of Cook filters would perforate the IVC. These injuries often are asymptomatic and, in fact, the FDA has recommended that people do follow up to check on the possibility of retrieval for these filters once the risk of pulmonary embolism has passed.
If people can afford it, or if they have health coverage, it might be recommended that they follow up with their primary care providers and request some diagnostic imaging to check the status of the filter because they may very well have problems they are not even aware of.
What an Attorney Will Want to Know
An IVC filter lawyer will take basic demographic information on their callers. They will talk with them about the date of the filter implant, which is important in these cases because the cases revolve around retrievable filters that did not come onto the market until 2003. Unfortunately, people do not frequently know the type of filter they have, why the filter was implanted in the course of treatment, whether they are experiencing any pain or symptoms, or what kind of problems, if any, that they are having. That basic information allows the attorney working on the IVC filter case to set a provisional limitations period based on where they are in the country and tells them how to triage or prioritize the cases.
The lawyer will then send out information, a packet with more detailed information, which allows them to get the medical records and other information that they need to identify the filter and determine whether they have a viable case.
Potential Consequences of IVC Filter Use
The negative aspects are the pretty substantial failure rates that are seen with particular devices. Some of the injuries include tilted filters, filters that embed or become irretrievable even though they are marketed as a retrievable filter, and filters that penetrate into the IVC or even perforate all the way through the IVC, threatening surrounding organs, vessels, or structures in the body.
There can be migration and, sometimes, embolization to the heart or lungs of the entire filter or, more frequently, you’ll have a fracture of the filter where a piece of it, such as a strut or one of the legs that comes off of the filter, may break away and that presents a problem of embolization where it may embolize to the lungs or the heart.
What to Expect in an IVC Mass Tort Case
There is usually a lot of waiting involved in these cases. In these cases an injured party will get a lot of detailed paperwork that they have to fill out. Oftentimes, the IVC filter attorney may ask people to go and seek out their own medical records or to dig through their own paperwork if they have medical record ID cards for the filter. It is then a period of waiting while the lawyer obtains the necessary information. Often it takes 60 to 90 days to determine the type of filter they have and whether they have a claim, and it gets more detailed as the litigation goes forward.
After the Lawsuit
You may be hesitant to look for another nursing home to care for your loved one after abuse has taken place. It’s important to know that the actions you take can help you move forward. It may be emotionally traumatic for your loved one to return to any nursing home, but if it is a necessity, you should take measures to ensure their safety.
Discuss their options and make sure everyone is happy with the next step. This can make your loved one feel more comfortable. Use the contact form below to contact us.
