Product Liability Lawyer Blog
According to a recent news feature from the Madison Record, a woman in Texas is suing Bayer Pharmaceuticals AG, and its United States marketing partner Janssen Pharmaceuticals (Johnson & Johnson) for injuries she alleges was a result of her Xarelto prescription.
Xarelto is the brand name for a drug known as rivaroxaban. It is a member of a class of drugs known as New Oral Anticoagulants (NOACs). Patients who suffer from various medical conditions including atrial fibrillation (Afib) require an anti-clotting agent. If blood clots form, they can block the flow of blood, causing strokes and other serious issues. If a clot forms and breaks loose, it can travel to other parts of the body, such as the lungs, where it can cause serious internal bleeding known as a pulmonary embolism or PE. Until the creation and FDA approval of NOACs, including Xarelto, Pradaxa, and Eliquis, the most commonly used medication was Warfarin, which is the generic form of Coumadin.
While Coumadin is effective in treating Afib patients, it does require very frequent blood tests to monitor dosage, and patients must also watch their diets closely, as certain foods can alter the rate at which Coumadin is absorbed. If the dosage is off, the patient can have serious consequences including bleeding disorders.
As our Boston Xarelto injury attorneys can explain, makers of this drug, Eliquis, and Pradaxa claim their NOACs do not need to be constantly monitored, so they are much more convenient to patients. However, what the makers of the respective drugs do not want patients to know is that these drugs have been known to cause serious internal bleeding disorders, including intracranial bleeding, and there is no cure or antidote currently approved by the FDA. In other words, for Xarelto patients who suffer internal bleeding caused by the drug, there is nothing doctors can do to reverse the bleeding disorder.
There is, however, an experimental antidote for the internal bleeding disorder caused by Pradaxa, which is thought to be effective in treating symptoms of all three new blood thinners, but this antidote is still in the clinical trials phase. This antidote is being manufactured by another pharmaceutical company, and, while the manufacturers of the NOACs do not look to directly make any revenue from the sale of the antidote, it will allow them to keep earning billions of dollars from sales of their respective medications, which all share potentially dangerous and sometimes deadly side effects.
As result of these Xarelto injuries, thousands have become sick and many have died. Plaintiffs all over the country, including the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, are filing products liability lawsuits in which plaintiffs are alleging manufacture of a defective and dangerous drug and failure to adequately warn of a known danger, in addition to standard claims common to other negligence based personal injury lawsuits.
However, these are very complex cases, and you should make sure your attorney has experience handling lawsuits involving pharmaceutical manufacturers. Having handled these and other similar cases in the past can also help in the discovery phase of any lawsuit, which is often the most crucial aspect of legal matters such as these.
If you are the victim of Massachusetts product liability due to taking Xarelto, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment — (617) 777-7777.
Additional Resources:
Texas Woman Seeks $4.5 Million over Xarelto Prescription, Apr.6, 2015, Madison Record
More Blog Entries:
Risk for Internal Bleeding after Taking Pradaxa, August 22, 2014, Boston Dangerous Drugs Injury Lawyer Blog