The rise of Xarelto litigation

Since the filing of the first Xarelto lawsuit in January 2014, a large number of cases have been filed against the manufacturer of the blood-thinning drug. With so many lawsuits, the U.S. Judicial Panel decided to form a multi-district litigation mechanism to streamline the discovery phases of the litigation. At the time of the approval of the multi-district litigation, there were almost 21 lawsuits pending in 10 districts. As per the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation’s monthly report, almost 86 lawsuits were pending as of January 15, 2015, in multi-district litigation before US District Judge Eldon E. Fallon, in the Eastern District for Louisiana. In May 2015, a total number of 434 lawsuits had been filed, as against 33 in December 2014.

These numbers reveal an alarming trend: as the number of legal claims against Xarelto continues to grow, more and more people have been experiencing side effects from Xarelto. With regard to the lawsuits filed, the victims claim that were not warned by Bayer and Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceutical Division – the blood thinner’s manufacturer –  about the potential side effects and risks associated with Xarelto.

Even though blood thinning drugs usually have some side effects, as per these plaintiffs, Xarelto is a drug that causes life-threatening bleeding. Moreover, there is currently no antidote available for Xarelto users, which has unfortunately led to innumerable deaths.

Similarly, the lawsuits allege that Xarelto has been marketed as a one size fits all drug to boost sales. On the contrary, its advertisement should have been more accurate, with the pharmaceutical companies giving warnings about its monitoring and lack of antidote. Meanwhile, others stated that the defendants created Xarelto as an alternative to Warfarin, but it causes severe bleeding complications. In addition, Xarelto also costs more than Warfarin.

Nevertheless, in a similar case, litigation against the manufacturer of a similar drug, Pradaxa, was settled in May 2014. The total cost of litigation was $680 million to resolve about 4,000 bleeding claims.  However, as per The Institute for Safe Medication Practices’ report releases in 2013, more patients had experienced fatal injuries from taking Xarelto than those who took Pradaxa.  

Therefore, it is not surprising that the number of lawsuits filed against Xarelto is likely to rise in future. Unfortunately, all these lawsuits have a common theme of uncontrollable bleeding that leads to injury, hospitalization, or death. Some of the most common injuries named in lawsuits include heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, rectal bleeding, brain hemorrhage, vaginal bleeding, epidural hematoma, and gastrointestinal bleeding.

Are you or a loved one suffering from bleeding complications after taking Xarelto? If so, you may be eligible to receive compensation for your losses. Contact  The Meldofsky Firm for legal consultation. The firm will review your case to ensure that you get a fair compensation  from a Xarelto lawsuit attorney. Click here to find out more.