Pradaxa is a blood-thinning medication prescribed to prevent strokes due to atrial fibrillation. Unfortunately, the new generation anticoagulant has also been linked to serious and fatal bleeding-related events.

Many patients have reported experiencing gastrointestinal bleeding, severe hemorrhaging, strokes, heart attacks, and other serious Pradaxa complications and injuries.

These reports have prompted multiple government reviews, numerous medical studies evaluating the drug’s safety and effectiveness, and thousands of Pradaxa lawsuits.

Additionally, court documents in some Pradaxa lawsuits reveal that the maker of the drug, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, concealed an analysis linking Pradaxa to a higher rate of fatal bleeding than expected.

Boehringer provided the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with an analysis showing 6.1 deaths from bleeding per 10,000 patients taking Pradaxa after the drug was approved in October 2010.

But when the FDA asked Boehringer to re-analyze data from clinical trials before approving the blood thinner, the company ended up with two analyses. Boehringer provided the FDA with one analysis showing 5.8 deaths from bleeding per 10,000 patients.

However, the company did not disclose another analysis showing that 19.5 people in 10,000 had a major bleeding event and died for any reason.

Pradaxa Lawsuits

Patients who suffer injuries after taking Pradaxa or family members who have lost a loved one to Pradaxa bleeding have legal options. When a pharmaceutical drug like Pradaxa is responsible for patient injuries, patients and loved ones can sue the drug manufacturer. These product liability lawsuits seek to hold manufacturers accountable for their allegedly dangerous and defective products.

One such Pradaxa wrongful death lawsuit filed by the widow of a Georgia man who died in May 2014 alleges that after taking the anticoagulant, the victim suffered an uncontrolled bleeding event which led to his death three days later.

The blood thinning drug is also alleged to have caused the death of a Louisiana man.  The deceased’s nine surviving children jointly filed a Pradaxa bleeding death lawsuit claiming that as a direct result of using the drug, their father developed uncontrollable internal bleeding injuries, which ultimately led to his death.

Another deadly Pradaxa bleeding lawsuit was filed by a father and daughter from Mississippi who claim that the new generation anticoagulant prescribed to prevent stroke instead caused fatal internal bleeding injuries in their mother and wife, respectively.

Pradaxa Multidistrict Litigation

In May 2014, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals agreed to settle around 4,000 claims regarding Pradaxa for a total of approximately $650 million. The Pradaxa settlement covers claims in both state and federal courts. In agreeing to the settlement, Boehringer Ingelheim did not admit to any liability.

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

Over 2,600 Pradaxa Lawsuits are 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.