According to NBC News, at least 27 American deaths have been linked to a medical device implanted in them to prevent blood clots.
The news outlet reported that device is called the Recovery filter, a spider-shaped apparatus that is inserted into the largest vein in the body. C.R. Bard manufacturers the device.
NBC News reported that about a quarter million blood clot filters of different varieties are implanted in patients each year in the event that they cannot tolerate blood thinners.
One woman who received the Recovery device, Dodi Froehlich, 45, suffered injuries in a car accident that put her at risk for clotting. The filter was supposed to prevent clots from reaching her heart or lungs, but instead, it nearly killed her.
Four months after receiving a Recovery implant, Froehlich developed a headache and passed out. She nearly died, and she required emergency heart surgery after testing revealed that a piece of the filter broke off and pierced her organ.
NBC News reported that after problems with Recovery began to mount, Bard hired a public relations firm to do damage control. It also hired a doctor to conduct a confidential study, which the news source obtained, claiming that the “Recovery filter had higher rates of relative risk for death, filter fracture and movement than all its competitors.”
Nevertheless, even though the doctor called for further investigation, Bard continued to sell the products for three years before replacing them with a model with a new name: G2.
Bard declined to comment on the NBC News investigation. Instead, it released a statement saying that the device was “appropriately cleared by [the] FDA based on required and accurate documentation.”
DO NOT LET A DANGEROUS MEDICAL DEVICE MANUFACTURER VICTIMIZE YOU
We will continue to follow this story as more news comes out. It is unfortunate that thousands of Americans may have been put at risk for death due to an allegedly defective medical product.
If a defective medical device has harmed you or killed your loved one, call attorney Stanley A. Davis today. You may be able to file an injury or wrongful death lawsuit, or enter into class action litigation.
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