Ashley Milano  |  May 25, 2015

Category: Legal News

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Blood testA Louisiana man has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against drug giants Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, alleging their popular blood thinner Xarelto caused the death of his mother.

Plaintiff Michael B. has filed the Xarelto lawsuit on behalf of his deceased mother, Olivia B., against the manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson) and the co-marketer of Xarelto, Bayer Healthcare. This complaint alleges these companies failed to disclose the truth about the safety and efficacy of Xarelto to patients and physicians.

Xarelto Lawsuit Alleges Drug Companies Hid Bleeding Risks

According to the Xarelto lawsuit, Oliva began taking Xarelto around the end of April 2014 upon direction of her physician to treat her deep vein thrombosis (DVT). As a direct result of ingesting Xarelto, she suffered from anemia, which required Olivia to be hospitalized and received blood transfusions on several occasions from May 27, 2014, through June 12 of the same year.

Olivia continued to take Xarelto with a refill off the prescriptions and died on Aug. 14, 2014. The Xarelto lawsuit claims that both Bayer and Janssen Pharmaceuticals knew of the Xarelto side effects, and rather than take the steps to pull the drug off the market, provide strong warnings, or create an antidote, they continued to promote Xarelto as a safe and effective treatment for DVT.

The Xarelto lawsuit further accuses the drug companies of deliberately concealing their knowledge that Xarelto can cause life threatening irreversible bleeds from public consumers and medical community and also failed to adequately warn about the lack of an antidote to reverse uncontrolled bleeding caused by Xarelto. The plaintiff has asked for his case to be included in the Xarelto multidistrict litigation (or Xarelto MDL) currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Xarelto Bleeding Risks

Approved by the FDA in 2011, Xarelto is one of the newest anticoagulants (blood thinners) on the drug market today. It has been widely prescribed to prevent blood clots in patients suffering deep vein thrombosis (blood clots deep within the body).

Generally, Xarelto is prescribed as an alternative to warfarin (Coumadin), a blood thinner used as far back as 1954. The most serious potential side effect of Xarelto is severe internal bleeding that can result in patient death. What is even more alarming is that there is no known cure to reverse the type of internal bleeding caused by Xarelto.

Xarelto still does not have a “black box” warning informing patients or prescribing doctors that Xarelto can cause irreversible bleeds. In fact, a label change as recent as March 2014 still fails to contain this type of warning on Xarelto packaging or advertising.

Xarelto Lawsuits

This Xarelto lawsuit is seeking damages for loss of care, comfort and society, and companionship; medical, hospital, and funeral expenses; economic damages; exemplary and compensatory damages for Janssen Pharmaceutical’s and Bayer’s alleged deceptive marketing practices, putting profits before consumer safety, and directly causing the death of Oliva by their negligent actions. The filed complaint indicates a demand for a jury trial for this case.

The Xarelto Lawsuit is Case No. 2:15-cv-01590-EF-MBN, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

It is part of the Xarelto MDL known as In re: Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2592, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The Xarelto attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or Xarelto class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, Xarelto lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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If you or a loved one took Xarelto (rivaroxaban) and suffered injuries such as uncontrollable internal bleeding, gastrointestinal bleeding, hemorrhaging, deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, you may have a legal claim. See if you qualify by filling out the short form below.

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Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.