Blood thinner lawsuits alleging patients suffered serious and life-threatening internal bleeding events after using the blood thinner Xarelto show no signs of slowing down, with 2,400 Xarelto lawsuits now pending in the multidistrict litigation.

Plaintiffs similarly allege that the blood thinner can cause dangerous uncontrollable bleeding episodes and that Xarelto manufacturers Bayer AG and Janssen Pharmaceuticals neglected to properly warn about the risks associated with the lack of available antidote for the blood thinner.

According to court documents, the Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) noted that as of Dec. 15, 2015, there were 2,400 Xarelto blood thinner lawsuits consolidated for pretrial proceedings in MDL No. 2592 (In Re: Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) Products Liability Litigation, before U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon).

In mid-October, the MDL lawsuits numbered nearly 1,700.  Xarelto lawsuit lawyers expect the litigation will continue to grow as time goes on.

Xarelto Lawsuit Allegations

Xarelto was released and approved for sale in 2011 and touted as a superior replacement for Warfarin.  Xarelto is used to reduce the risk of blood clots among patients at risk for deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and those patients at risk for a stroke with atrial fibrillation.

Xarelto blood thinner lawsuits center on allegations that the drug makers failed to warn that the new blood thinner medication lacked an antidote to the drug’s anticlotting mechanism. Without an antidote to clot blood, someone who has Xarelto in their system can be at risk for developing uncontrollable bleeding after even a minor injury.

In these instances, doctors have to use extreme, life-saving measures like blood transfusions or surgery. Even after these attempts, patients can suffer from too much blood loss and die.

Other traditional anticoagulants, like warfarin, do not have this problem.  When warfarin patients experience internal bleeding, an antidote in the form of vitamin K can counter the effects of the medication and allow blood to clot.

Many Xarelto lawsuits allege that had patients been made aware of the lack of Xarelto bleeding antidote, they would not have used the medication.

One of these recent lawsuits was filed jointly by nine plaintiffs from across the United States over injuries allegedly sustained in connection to the popular new blood thinner. Injuries include severe internal bleeding and ultimately resulted in the wrongful death of one of the plaintiff’s wife.

“Plaintiffs bring this case against Defendants for damages associated with ingestion of the pharmaceutical drug Xarelto,” the lawsuit states. “Specifically, Plaintiffs suffered various injuries, serious pain and suffering, medical, hospital and surgical expenses, loss of consortium, and/or death and funeral expenses as a direct result of their use of Xarelto.”

Xarelto Multidistrict Litigation

Since December 2014, all federal blood thinner lawsuits filed against Bayer and Johnson & Johnson over the bleeding side effects of Xarelto have been centralized and consolidated before U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon in the Eastern District of Louisiana as part of an MDL, or multidistrict litigation.

Lawsuits against Bayer and Johnson & Johnson are consolidated in two courts, a multidistrict litigation court in the Eastern District of Louisiana and a mass tort litigation court in Philadelphia.

The MDL in Louisiana now contains over 2,400 federal lawsuits, and the mass tort in Philadelphia contains more than 500 state lawsuits.

Judge Fallon set a series of four bellwether trials scheduled to go trial in Spring 2017.

As Xarelto lawsuit lawyers continue to lay the groundwork for the multidistrict litigation, the number of Xarelto lawsuits filed against the makers of the drug is expected to surpass the current 2,400 cases.  If you or your loved one suffered from Xarelto bleeding, an experienced Xarelto lawsuit lawyer can evaluate your case and explain your legal options at no cost.