Glossary
Catheter
A flexible tube inserted into the body to deliver fluids or medicine, drain fluids, or give doctors access to a blood vessel or organ. Some implanted catheters are the subject of injury lawsuits.
A catheter is a thin, flexible tube placed in the body for medical treatment. Urinary catheters drain the bladder. Central venous catheters and implanted ports give doctors long-term access to a large vein for chemotherapy, antibiotics, nutrition, or frequent blood draws. Cardiac catheters are threaded through blood vessels to diagnose or treat heart problems.
Because catheters sit inside the body, sometimes for months or years, failures can be serious. Reported problems include infections, blood clots forming on the device, the catheter cracking or breaking, and fragments traveling through the bloodstream toward the heart or lungs. Some of these risks come with any catheter. Lawsuits focus on whether a particular design or material made failures more likely than it should have.
Implanted port catheter lawsuits against Bard and its parent company allege that the catheter material could degrade over time, leading to fractures, infections, and clots. Those claims have been consolidated in federal multidistrict litigation. The companies deny the allegations, and no court has found the devices defective. Earlier device waves, including IVC filter lawsuits, raised similar questions about fracture and migration.
If you had a catheter or port that failed, the key evidence is the device itself (ask the hospital to preserve it if it is removed), the brand and lot number from your operative report, and records of any complications. Our Bard port catheter lawsuit page explains who may qualify, and the Olympus scope infection page covers a related device infection issue.
Related on Best Class Actions
Sources.
Statutes, court rules, appellate opinions, and bar publications we relied on. See our editorial standards.