Drug Injury Lawyers Blog
Plaintiffs are starting to file claims seeking dangerous drug damages for injuries they sustained from using Xarelto, a blood thinner. Bayer and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which jointly market the drug, are the defendants. According to the Xarelto injury lawsuits, users are experiencing internal bleeding so severe that they have been hospitalized. They believe that the companies are continuing to sell the drugs despite the health risks, of which they are neglecting to notify the public.
Xarelto, unlike blood thinner warfarin (brand names Coumadin, Marevan, Jantoven, and Uniwarfin), does not have an antidote to stop uncontrollable bleeding. This means that excessive bleeding may lead to serious, life-threatening complications.
Xarelto is used as an alternative to warfarin. It is prescribed to prevent deep vein thrombosis after surgeries-joint replacement procedures, in particular-as well as pulmonary embolism and stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation.
In a report issued by the Institute for Safe Medicine Practices (ISMP) last May, the watchdog group noted that the quantity of serious adverse events involving Xarelto had surpassed those involving Pradaxa in early 2013. Pradaxa is a competitor blood thinner from Boehringer Ingelheim. Early this year, the company settled about 4,000 Pradaxa injury lawsuits for $650 million. Plaintiffs also had suffered serious bleeding incidents.
Xarelto has been promoted as a convenient alternative to warfarin. The latter requires a strict diet and blood tests on a frequent basis. J & J and Bayer recently announced that they plan to start clinical trials to get Xarelto approved for treating other health issues, such as acute coronary syndrome. ISMP says that almost a million Xarelto prescriptions are issued quarterly.
One Xarelto lawsuit claims that a woman’s husband died after suffering a subdural hemorrhage, which she attributes to his use of Xarelto. Another drug defect case contends that a 92-year-old man bled to death because of Xarelto. Yet another drug injury case blames the death of a Vermont man from an uncontrollable brain bleed on the blood thinner. There have been other Xarelto defect cases as well. More lawsuits are likely.
Other injuries that have been linked to Xarelto:
• Stroke • Gastrointestinal bleeding • Internal bleeding • Cerebral hemorrhage • Uncontrollable hemorrhage • Wrongful death
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Xarelto for specific uses in 2011. Earlier this year, its safety surveillance agency said it would study Xarelto for serious adverse events.
Please contact our Xarelto defect lawyers today if you or someone you loved suffered a cranial bleed, stroke, gastrointestinal bleed, nose bleed, pericardial bleed, blood in the stool, or some other serious health events that required hospitalization after taking Xarelto or any other blood thinner. Our Boston drug defect lawyers represent plaintiffs and their families throughout the U.S.
Unfortunately, drug makers do make dangerous drugs that can cause serious health issues and injuries to patients. You may be entitled to drug injury compensation from a manufacturer, distributor, or others.
Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) Tablets, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
German Drug Maker Agrees to Pay $650M to Settle Pradaxa Claims, Drug Injury Lawyers Blog, May 30, 2014
Boston Scientific Must Pay $73M Vaginal Mesh Injury Verdict, Drug Injury Lawyers Blog, September 10, 2014
Boston Dangerous Drug Lawsuit Over Meningitis Outbreak Linked to Massachusetts Compound Pharmacy Proceeds, Drug Injury Lawyers Blog, September 19, 2013
Institute for Safe Medicine Practices
