Cook Medical wins verdict in 'bellwether' case

The jury returned a unanimous verdict in Cook’s favor after a three-week trial in which plaintiffs charged that the devices, called inferior vena cava filters, or IVC filters for short, caused health risks.

“We are pleased with this outcome. Our IVC filters are clinically successful devices critical to patient well-being,” said Mark Breedlove, vice president of the vascular division at Cook Medical, in a news release. “We are dedicated to providing life-saving treatment options for patients and will continue to vigorously defend our IVC filters in future trials.”

Physicians and companies such as Cook worked together to develop the filters to reduce the risk of pulmonary embolisms. The company calls the device “an important option for physicians working to prevent the estimated 100,000 deaths associated with pulmonary embolism each year in the U.S.”