A dozen plaintiffs recently filed a Xarelto lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Bayer Healthcare, accusing the drug manufacturers of failing to properly warn about the bleeding risks associated with their new-generation blood thinner.

The Xarelto bleeding lawsuit states that if Janssen Pharmaceuticals (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson) and Bayer had properly warned of the Xarelto side effects, then the plaintiffs would have opted not to take the medication, and the physicians would have instead prescribed warfarin, a medication whose effects on internal bleeding can be treated with high doses of Vitamin K.

According to the Xarelto lawsuit, one plaintiff suffered a stroke and the remaining plaintiffs allege Xarelto caused serious gastrointestinal bleeding. The Xarelto injury lawsuit further alleges that the defendants placed their desire for profits before consumers’ safety by failing to properly research the risk of Xarelto bleeding or provide adequate warnings about the serious and potentially life-threatening health problems that may be caused by use of Xarelto.

More Xarelto Allegations

A growing number of plaintiffs already have filed Xarelto lawsuits and more are expected. Some of these Xarelto lawsuits have been consolidated as follows:

Xarelto Multidistrict Litigation

A federal panel of judges has granted a request to centralize pending and subsequent Xarelto lawsuits in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. The U.S. Judicial Panel On Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) issued an order in 2014 to transfer over 50 Xarelto cases pending in 22 districts to the Louisiana court for consolidation under U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon.

According to the order, the JPML found that the pending Xarelto claims have common issues, such as the adequacy of the blood thinner’s warning label about the risk of severe bleeding and other injuries, the results of certain clinical studies, and the alleged need for blood monitoring.

Additionally, the judicial panel maintained the Xarelto complaints have common allegations including plaintiffs suffering significant bleeding or other injuries, the defendants did not warn about the blood thinner’s potential to cause severe or fatal bleeding, and Xarelto does not have an antidote should severe bleeding occur in patients.

Xarelto Mass Tort

Administrative Judge Kevin Dougherty of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas recently issued an order that has created a mass tort docket for Xarelto bleeding lawsuits filed against Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals. The Jan. 21 order affects at least 75 cases that share common allegations regarding the medication, including uncontrollable bleeding that may lead to wrongful death. The cases will be transferred to the Pennsylvania state court’s Complex Litigation Center.

A mass tort action is different from a class action lawsuit. In the latter type of litigation, one lawsuit is filed on behalf of many plaintiffs and will be resolved by a sole trial or settlement deal. In contrast, plaintiffs participating in a mass tort reserve their right to an individual trial by jury.

The plaintiffs involved in this action had argued in favor of the creation of a mass tort, noting that their allegations “are virtually identical and arise from the identical conduct of defendants.” The plaintiffs’ motion went on to note that these common allegations involve the unreasonably dangerous nature of the defendants’ product, Xarelto, which has been linked to severe and uncontrollable internal bleeding that can be fatal.

The Xarelto Lawsuit is Case No: 2:15-vc-01971, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The Xarelto MDL is In re: Xarelto Products Liability Litigation, Case No: 2592, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.