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# Bard Hit Over Clot Filters
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/bard-hit-over-clot-filters/
- Published: 2016-01-05T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T02:25:20.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Devices, #legacy-id-D5134335

> NBC News [says](http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/why-did-firm-keep-selling-problem-blood-clot-filters-n488166?ref=fdaweb.com) confidential C.R. Bard records it obtained show that the company replaced a blood clot filter associated with 27 deaths and hundreds of problems with a modified version that it knew had similar and potentially fatal flaws soon after it was put on the market. The news outlet says that the records show that the company was concerned about reports of failures for its G2 series filters that replaced the Recovery filter within four months of receiving FDA clearance to sell the G2.  
>  
> Instead of recalling the G2 filter and the virtually identical G2 Express, NBC says, the company decided to keep them on the market for five years, selling more than 160,000 units. Company and FDA records indicate that at least 12 deaths and hundreds of problems have been linked to the G2 series filters, the report says.  
>  
> The company declined repeated NBC News requests for an interview, and said in a letter that “all medical devices carry some level of risk” and in a separate statement that the filters “are an important clinical option for physicians. We steadfastly believe in the safety and efficacy of these devices when used as instructed.”  
>  
> The report quotes Stanford Health Care IVC Filter Clinic interventional radiologist **William Kuo**, who specializes in removing failed blood clot filters, as saying that “the number of complications, the frequency of severe failures makes it obvious that it was never safe to be implanted…. Whether it’s an ethical reason, a moral obligation, in the interest of public safety and patient safety, absolutely these devices should have been recalled.”  
>  
> Kuo also called on FDA to take stronger action to protect patients. “What we’ve learned the hard way is that we can no longer rely on medical device companies to do what’s in the best interest of the patient,” he said. “And we can no longer rely on FDA to properly regulate these devices.”  
>  
> NBC also says that in response to its original broadcast report about the Bard Recovery filter, Sen. **Charles Grassley** (R-IA) sent a letter to FDA raising questions about its oversight of the filter. He told the network that the agency’s response was incomplete and that he has more questions as he considers what steps to take next.