NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana couple is suing over a defective medical device that continues to cause damage but cannot be removed.
Debra Rodrigue and Mark Rodrigue filed the suit Nov. 13 in U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana against C.R. Bard and Bard Peripheral Vascular, citing products liability, design defect, inadequate warning, breach of express warranty, redhibition and loss of consortium.
On March 18, 2009, Debra Rodrigue underwent placement of a Bard filter device in a vein near her heart. The filter, which helps prevent blood clots from entering the heart, subsequently failed, the suit claims, and it can't be removed. Also, the filter has perforated the vein, resulting in significant medical expenses, extreme pain and suffering and disability, among other losses.
From 2003 to 2005, the suit claims the defendant received at least 32 reports that the filter had broken while in patients' veins. While the defendant began redesigning the filter, the suit claims it stopped marketing the device but didn't issue a recall or notify consumers of its risk.
The plaintiffs seek a trial by jury, compensatory, economic and punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, court costs and attorney fees. Representing the plaintiffs are Bruce S. Kingsdorf, Dawn M. Barrios and Zachary L. Wool of Barrios Kingsdorf & Casteix of New Orleans.
U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana case number 2:15-cv-05920-SM-JCW