C.R. Bard Inc. notched two victories in suits by women alleging its inferior vena cava filters broke after implantation and injured them — with a Florida jury and a Michigan federal judge granting wins — but in a third case, a Texas jury found the company liable for $386,250 in damages.
The FL jury handed down its decision in a case by Denise Ocasio; the MI judge in a case by Mary Lou McMan; and, the TX jury in a case by Debra Branch.
In all three suits, the women alleged they were implanted with one of Bard’s IVC filters to treat medical conditions but were injured when the filters broke inside them and parts of those filters migrated to other areas of their bodies.
While McMan had argued the statute should be tolled because Bard fraudulently concealed the alleged defect, Judge Cox disagreed, saying that under state law, the statute starts to run when the alleged defect happens, even if McMan was asymptomatic and unaware, and that the plaintiff didn’t show evidence of any misrepresentation on Bard’s part.
Bard saw a different outcome in Texas, however, as the jury found that there was a defect in the warnings at the time Bard’s Recovery IVC Filter left its possession, as well as a defect in the design. While the jury found that the company was not negligent in warning regarding its use and did not find sufficient evidence for gross negligence, it concluded that negligence in the design led to Branch’s injuries. Bard, however, considers the Texas verdict a victory because Branch’s attorneys had been seeking $22 million in damages during the trial.
Law360: https://www.law360.com/articles/1405448/cr-bard-nets-2-wins-1-loss-in-faulty-ivc-filter-suits