HUNTINGTON — A federal lawsuit against Cook Medical alleging a defective vena cava filter has been transferred to the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.
On Oct. 15, 2014, the panel transferred 13 civil actions to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana that were related. Since then, 626 additional actions have been transferred to the Southern District of Indiana, according to the conditional transfer order.
"With the consent of that court, all such actions have been assigned to the Honorable Richard L. Young," the order states. "It appears that the action(s) on this conditional transfer order involve questions of fact that are common to the actions previously transferred to the Southern District of Indiana and assigned to Judge Young."
Christina Gail Means filed the lawsuit against Cook Incorporated, Cook Medical Incorporated, Cook Group Incorporated and Cook Medical LLC in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. She claims she had a Celect Vena Cava Set implanted in on May 4, 2010, at Wheeling Hospital by Dr. Xingyi Que.
The defendants designed, researched, developed, manufactured, tested, marketed, advertised, promoted, distributed and sold IVC filters, which were marketed and sold as both permanent and retrievable devices, purportedly to prevent recurrent pulmonary embolism.
One such product is the Cook Celect IVC filter at issue in this case, according to the suit.
"To date, there is no evidence to support the notion that IVC filters offer any clinical benefit to patients, the complaint states.
Means claims the defendants concealed the known risks and failed to warn of known or scientifically knowable dangers and risks associated with the filter.
"The Cook Celect filter was designed, manufactured, distributed, marketed, promoted, sold, and/or supplied by Cook Defendants and was marketed while defective due to the inadequate warnings, instructions, labeling, and/or inadequate testing in light of Cook Defendants’ knowledge of the product’s failure and serious adverse events," the complaint states.
Means is seeking compensatory damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. She is represented by David Barney Jr. of Thompson Barney and Michael E. Gallant of Dalimonte Rueb Stoller.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number: 3:21-cv-00526