Xarelto has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. A recent Xarelto lawsuit alleges that the plaintiff almost died from uncontrollable hemorrhaging after taking Xarelto.

However, the makers of Xarelto, Bayer and Johnson & Johnson, maintain that their product is safe.

On Aug. 29, a Xarelto bleeding lawsuit was filed by plaintiff Shirley Boynton in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She began taking Xarelto in April 2012, but stopped in August 2012.

Boynton alleges that she suffered hemorrhaging as a result of taking Xarelto that caused her to suffer debilitating and life-changing injuries. She contends that the safety warnings on Xarelto for hemorrhaging were inadequate and had she known about the true risks involved, she would have never taken Xarelto.

Bayer and Johnson & Johnson both have marketed their drug as an alternative to warfarin in the past. As a result, plaintiffs accuse Bayer and Johnson & Johnson of purposely misleading the medical community in an effort to increase the use of their medication over other blood thinners.

The Xarelto Lawsuit is Shirley and James Boynton v. Janssen Research and Development, Case No. 1:14-cv-05133-FB-RM, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Overview of Xarelto

Xarelto is part of a new generation of anticoagulants. This generation is known as “direct thrombin inhibitors” and they are designed to thin the patient’s blood, reducing their risk for blood clots and stroke.

In addition, Bayer and Johnson & Johnson designed Xarelto knowingly without an antidote, while warfarin does have an antidote.

According to the Xarelto bleeding lawsuit, “Importantly, there is no antidote to Xarelto, unlike warfarin. Therefore, in the event of hemorrhagic complications, there is no available reversal agent.” The complaint goes on to say, “The original U.S. label approved when the drug was first marketed in the U.S. did not contain a warning regarding the lack of antidote, but instead only mentioned this important fact in the drug overdosage section.”

Bleeding can occur with warfarin, but it can be reversed simply with an antidote to counteract the blood thinning effects, giving doctors the necessary time and control over the bleeding. With Xarelto, bleeding cannot be reversed.