CHARLESTON – A Charleston man says a piece of a catheter was left in his brain after a medical procedure.
Robert H. Billups filed his complaint September 12 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Penumbra Inc., a California-based company that produces medical devices.
According to the complaint, Billups was admitted September 12, 2021, at Charleston Area Medical Center General Hospital as a level 1 stroke patient with left weakness, left facial droop, left deviated gaze, NIH 8 and possible acute transcortical infarct. He underwent surgery to remove a clot from his brain, and the surgeon used the Penumbra ACE 68 aspiration catheter in the procedure.
That catheter is a small tube inserted into the brain through an artery used to extract blood clots from stroke patients.
During the surgery, the complaint says the aspiration catheter failed, causing the separation of a small piece of the catheter behind the thrombosed clot, resulting in a piece of metal and/or foreign material to break off and which now remains in Billups’ brain.
He accuses Penumbra of negligence, strict liability and breach of warranty.
Billups says he suffered debilitating, temporary and permanent physical injuries and impairment as well as physical and mental pain and suffering. He says he suffered a diminished capacity and lost enjoyment of life in addition to medical bills, hospital bills and other damages. He seeks compensatory damages.
He is being represented by Marvin Masters of the Masters Law Firm in Charleston.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 23-C-808