Nine Louisiana siblings filed a Pradaxa lawsuit against its manufacturer, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, alleging that the anticoagulant killed their father.

Anthony O., the father of the nine plaintiffs, began taking Pradaxa to treat atrial fibrillation, a condition that can often lead to strokes. Atrial fibrillation is not rare — more than two million Americans have atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is more common in older adults.

According to the siblings’ Pradaxa lawsuit, neither the doctor nor their deceased father was aware that Pradaxa did not have an antidote that could be used in the event of internal bleeding.

The lawsuit does not simply suggest that Pradaxa is defective, or even that Boehringer failed to provide adequate warning about their drug’s possible side effects.

Instead, the children’s Pradaxa lawsuit alleges that pharmaceutical giant “willfully, wantonly and with malice withheld the knowledge of increased risk of irreversible bleeds in users of Pradaxa to prevent any chances of their product’s registrations being delayed or rejected by the FDA.”

The Pradaxa lawsuit further claims that, in response to thousands of Pradaxa patients suffering from Pradaxa complications or even death, Boehringer responded by making an “extremely modest, and wholly inadequate” label change in January 2012.

The nine plaintiffs filed the Pradaxa lawsuit in order to seek justice for their father’s death, asking for $75,000 in compensatory damages between the nine of them.

Pradaxa Bleeding Risks

Pradaxa was created to improve upon warfarin, which was the standard treatment for people with atrial fibrillation. Blood thinners like Pradaxa work to prevent clotting in the blood streams, and therefore reduce the risk of complications from atrial fibrillation.

The prevention of blood clots is useful when faced with atrial fibrillation, but in some instances, it can become dangerous. For instance, in cases of illness or injury that lead to internal bleeding, blood thinners such as Pradaxa or generic warfarin can lead to excessive bleeding side effects.

However, warfarin has an antidote to allow a patient’s blood to clot properly once again. Pradaxa, on the other hand, carries with it no such measure to prevent excessive bleeding in case of emergencies.

The label change that warns of irreversible bleeding, added in 2012, is practically hidden on the fifth and sixth pages of Pradaxa’s warnings and precautions, according to the lawsuit, despite the fact that excessive and irreversible bleeding is objectively one of the most dangerous possible side effects.

Pradaxa Lawsuits

Pradaxa lawsuits, filed by a growing number of plaintiffs over Pradaxa bleeding side effects, allege that the drug manufacturer failed to adequately warn the public and the medical community about the potentially serious – or even life-threatening – bleeding side effects associated with their drug.

These serious Pradaxa bleeding side effects have caused many Pradaxa users to file lawsuits against Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals.

If you or someone you know has taken Pradaxa and has subsequently experienced any of the above symptoms, such as excessive bleeding or brain hemorrhaging, due to Pradaxa, you may have cause for filing a Pradaxa bleeding side effects lawsuit.

The Pradaxa Internal Bleeding Lawsuit is Case No. 2:15-cv-04064-SM-SS in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.