The first week of the Xarelto trial (MDL No. 2592) in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana was a great first step for our clients to receive justice. Plaintiffs rested on Friday, and this week centers on the defense.
About the Xarelto Trial
Xarelto has been significantly responsible for numerous deaths and horrible side effects. Introduced by Bayer and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals in 2011, Xarelto was heralded as a new generation of anticoagulants. Also, both manufacturers promoted the drug as a superior alternative to Coumadin (warfarin). Warfarin was the go-to blood thinner for prevention of strokes among patients with atrial fibrillation for a decade. Currently, there are approximately 13 million active prescriptions.
The most troubling aspect of using Xarelto is that there is no antidote to reverse the anti-clotting effect in an emergency. When a bleed occurs, doctors and surgeons have limited options. It means that what could be a treatable injury for most people can be a fatal one for Xarelto users.
Misleading Consumers
During the first week of the trial, new evidence emerged that Xarelto manufacturers Janssen and Bayer intentionally misled doctors and patients about the dangers of the blood thinner.
The former Commissioner of the FDA, David Kessler cited Xarelto as being responsible for causing internal bleeding that led to severe injuries or death in almost 16,000 people. Kessler also testified that Janssen and Bayer withheld lab results. Doctors could have used the results to help predict and prevent excessive bleeding.
First Bellwether Plaintiff
Those lab results could have been instrumental in preventing the bleeding Plaintiff Joseph Boudreaux experienced. Xarelto was supposed to cut his risk of stroke, instead, it caused Boudreaux to bleed internally. This required a week-long hospital stay in the intensive-care unit. It was there doctors gave him several blood transfusions, which led to multiple heart procedures.
“I got so weak,” Boudreaux described when asked how he felt after he began taking Xarelto. “I couldn’t go anymore.”
His emergency medical bills eventually exceeded $100,000.
Professor of Medicine and Hematology at Tulane University, Cindy Leissinger testified, “I feel very strongly that Xarelto was a major contributor to the major bleed that he had.”
Get Justice
If you or a loved one has suffered a serious bleeding incident due to Xarelto – or if such an incident claimed the life of a loved one – you need to contact us today. The Michael Brady Lynch Firm has decades of experience representing plaintiffs. We have stood up against huge pharmaceutical companies and recovered millions for our clients.
Currently, we are still accepting new bleeding complication cases in all 50 states.