Products Liability Law Reporter

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a patient’s products liability suit alleging injury resulting from an allegedly defective inferior vena cava (IVC) filter was time-barred.

Jessica Gehner was implanted with a Cook Medical IVC filter. She developed abdominal pain, underwent testing, and was diagnosed as having a perforated IVC. The following month, in April 2013, surgery to remove the filter revealed that the device had fractured. In May 2016, Gehner sued Cook Inc., Cook Medical LLC, and William Cook Europe APS, alleging products liability and implied warranty claims. The defense moved for summary judgment on the basis that the applicable two-year limitations period barred the plaintiff’s claims. The district court granted the motion.

Affirming, the Seventh Circuit noted that once Gehner was aware of the causal relationship between her injury and the IVC filter, she was placed on sufficient notice that the filter may have been defective, and the two-year limitations period began to run. Citing case law, the court reasoned that once an injury has occurred, additional time is not afforded for the discovery of whether or not a product is defective. Rather, the court said, when a person discovers the causal connection between a physical injury and the use of a product, a defective or negligently manufactured product may be inferred, unless the injury is a known and probable result of the product’s use.

The court also rejected the plaintiff’s argument that her suit was timely under Ohio’s discovery rule. This rule generally applies to cases concerning latent injuries, not possible latent defects, the court said.

Consequently, summary judgment for the defense was proper.

Citation: Matter of Cook Med., Inc., 2024 WL 3580171 (7th Cir. July 30, 2024).