Uncontrolled bleeding caused by Xarelto has resulted in hundreds of people filing lawsuits against the company for failing to warn about the dangers associated with Xarelto.
According to the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL), as of June 15, 2016, there were 5,853 lawsuits consolidated for pretrial proceedings in MDL 2592. Those lawsuits allege patients suffered uncontrolled bleeding events leading to serious injury as a result of using Xarelto. Inclusion in the MDL is not a comment on the lawsuits’ merits; rather it is an acknowledgment that the suits share similar issues.
Those issues involve uncontrolled bleeding linked to use of Xarelto. Because Xarelto is a blood thinner, uncontrolled bleeding is a risk for patients. However, patients allege they were not adequately warned about that risk, nor were they told that there was no antidote for Xarelto. Patients taking warfarin, also a blood thinner, have an antidote to counter act its effects. Warfarin can be counteracted by taking vitamin K. Xarelto on the other hand has no antidote and patients suffering from uncontrolled bleeding must wait for the drug to leave their system.
That puts patients at risk of serious side effects including possible death, depending on the nature of the bleeding. And patients reportedly don’t have to use the drug for long to suffer a side effect.
David Rowell, one many people suing Xarelto, claims to have only used Xarelto for ten days, from June 19 to June 29, 2015, but suffered from life-threatening uncontrolled bleeding as a result of the anticoagulant. Xarelto is given to prevent a risk of blood cloths, but the risk of uncontrolled bleeding is also serious, as highlighted by Rowell’s lawsuit.
Our office continues to investigate Xarelto lawsuits from across the country. If you or a loved suffered uncontrolled bleeding after taking Xarelto, contact our office immediately.