Cook Group sues Lloyd’s of London underwriter for refusing to honor $10M policy
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Cook Group is suing an underwriter at Lloyd’s of London insurance group for breach of contract, saying it failed to honor a $10 million policy against claims by patients who said they were injured by medical devices known as IVC filters produced by the Bloomington-based company.
Cook Group, the parent of Cook Medical, filed suit this month against AXA XL Syndicate of London, formerly known as Catlin Syndicate Limited of London.
More than 6,000 people have filed claims against Cook in connection with its IVC (inferior vena cava) filters, which are small, metal, cage-like devices inserted into a vein that returns blood from the lower half of the body to the heart. The devices are designed to capture blood clots so they don’t reach the lungs.
Cook said the filters help prevent an estimated 100,000 deaths associated with pulmonary embolism every year in the United States. Cook has sold more than a half-million IVC filters in more than 100 countries.
But thousands of patients have sued Cook, claiming the devices had broken, migrated through the body or caused organ damage. Most of the claims have been consolidated as part of a federal multidistrict litigation in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis.
To date, Cook said it has incurred and paid “significant sums” in defense costs and indemnity amounts in connection with the claims.
Cook said it bought a commercial general liability insurance policy from Catlin for the period of Oct. 1, 2012, through Oct. 1, 2013. Cook, in its complaint, said it reasonably expected the policy “would respond to the underlying actions based on the type of broad and comprehensive coverage that Cook purchased.”
In fact, Cook said, Catlin had honored a similar policy a year earlier with virtually identical wording.
Instead, Catlin “conducted a dilatory investigation and engaged in reckless handling of Cook’s insurance claim,” Cook claimed, and sent the Bloomington company numerous demands and requests for information.
“In short, Catlin abandoned its policyholder in the throes of high-risk litigation and, ultimately, fully denied coverage under the 2012‒2013 Catlin Policy without a reasonable basis,” Cook said in its suit.
Catlin was bought in 2023 by insurer AXA XL Syndicate of London. The company did not immediately respond to an email from IBJ seeking comment.
Cook is claiming breach of contract and breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing. The case was assigned to Judge Matthew P. Brookman.