The blood thinning medication Pradaxa is one of the top selling drugs in the United States due to its ability to effectively prevent patients with abnormal heart rhythms, such as atrial fibrillation, from suffering strokes and blood clots.

Pradaxa has been in the news lately though not for its stroke-preventing abilities, but due to the multiple Pradaxa lawsuits filed by individuals who have suffered from a catastrophic bleeding event after taking the prescription drug.

Pradaxa and Atrial Fibrillation

Patients who suffer from non-valvular atrial fibrillation are at risk of suffering from blood clots and strokes because atrial fibrillation lessens the heart’s beating efficiency, leading to the blood’s pooling in the heart’s atria, or its upper chambers. The pooling of blood can produce a blood clot.

A blot clot that breaks loose and travels from the atria through the blood stream to the brain can cause a stroke, or can get stuck in a blood vessel and prevent blood from reaching a portion of the brain. Since oxygen is necessary for the survival of all of our body’s tissues, cells in that portion of the brain deprived of oxygen-carrying blood begin to die within minutes.

The anticoagulant medicine Pradaxa is intended to reduce those risks.

Pradaxa Side Effects

However, there have been many reports of serious side effects related to the use of Pradaxa. These Pradaxa side effects include, but are not limited to, severe internal bleeding, cerebral hemorrhag, and uncontrollable bleeding

In December 2011, the FDA released a safety announcement regarding reports of serious bleeding events in patients taking Pradaxa. Signs or symptoms of serious Pradaxa bleeding can include:

• Bleeding that is severe or uncontrollable
• Bruises that happen without a known cause or that get larger
• Coughing up blood or blood clots
• Nose bleeding that happens often
• Pink or brown urine
• Red or black stools
• Unusual bleeding from the gums
• Vomiting blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds

Pradaxa Lawsuits

According to Pradaxa lawsuits filed against drug maker Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer allegedly knew that taking the drug could lead to a possible risk of patients seriously bleeding, but the manufacturer failed to warn individuals of the allegedly defective and dangerous nature of the drug.

In May 2014, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals announced that it would settle 4,000 Pradaxa lawsuits for an unprecedented $650 million.

Although Boehringer Ingelheim agreed to settle those thousands of Pradaxa lawsuits, the drug maker is still facing thousands more in federal court, alleging that users suffered severe and sometimes fatal bleeding problems after using the controversial anticoagulant.

There are over 2,600 Pradaxa lawsuits currently consolidated in a multidistrict litigation known as In re: Pradaxa (Dabigatran Etexilate) Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2385, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

If you or a loved one have suffered from uncontrolled bleeding, hemorrhaging, gastrointestinal bleeds, fatalities, or other side effects after taking Pradaxa, you may be able to file a Pradaxa lawsuit against Boehringer Ingelheim.