Product liability attorneys are available for potential plaintiffs looking to bring Pradaxa lawsuits against the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. Many consumers have allegedly been injured by the popular anticoagulant. Pradaxa lawsuits alleging that the company violated consumer protection laws and failed to warn the medical community and general public about serious side effects may help compensate victims and their families.

The blood thinner Pradaxa, generically known as dabigatran, is one of the new-generation anticoagulants that have recently hit the market. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Pradaxa for consumer use in 2010. Since then, its manufacturers have aggressively marketed the drug as a superior alternative to Warfarin, also prescribed as coumadin.

Warfarin is a blood thinning medication that has been on the market for decades. According to Pradaxa marketing campaigns, Pradaxa is a superior alternative to Warfarin because it does not require patients to undergo extensive blood monitoring and strict dietary restrictions. Warfarin does, however, have an antidote in the case of uncontrollable bleeding events. Unfortunately for Pradaxa patients, Pradaxa has no known similar antidote.

When patients taking Warfarin experience adverse side effects such as uncontrolled internal bleeding, doctors can administer a dose of Vitamin K, sometimes mixed with fresh or frozen plasma, to counteract the bleeding and assist with clotting. No such remedy exists for patients taking Pradaxa.

Within the drug’s first three months on the market, the FDA received over 300 adverse event reports involving internal bleeding, gastrointestinal bleeding, and other serious complications. After just a year on the market, over 250 deaths had been reported to the FDA. Survivors alleged that Pradaxa had caused the deceased to suffer from hemorrhage, stroke, or other forms of uncontrolled bleeding.

Although bleeding is a common side effect of all anticoagulant medications, research has suggested that Pradaxa users experience an increased risk of excessive and uncontrolled bleeding. Potential signs that a person is experiencing internal bleeding include: bruising without a known cause, nose bleeds, discolored urine, red or black stool, and coughing or vomiting blood.

Overview of Pradaxa Lawsuits

Several individual lawsuits have been filed against Pradaxa manufacturers, as well as a class action lawsuit. Potential plaintiffs will have the option of bringing a lawsuit individually or as members in a class action. Lawsuits brought individually often provide the plaintiff with more autonomy over the direction of the lawsuit, while class action lawsuits provide the benefit of spreading the costs of litigation among the members. Deciding whether or not to bring a lawsuit individually or as a class action lawsuit is a decision that should be made on a case-by-case basis with the help of a legal professional. Pradaxa attorneys have experience with product liability litigation and are better able weigh the merits of an individual’s case.

Awards and settlements from Pradaxa lawsuits will help plaintiffs pay both past and future medical bills, as well as compensate victims for the pain and suffering they were forced to endure.