Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb are facing a new Eliquis lawsuit, filed by a widower on behalf of his deceased wife, alleging that his wife had suffered internal bleeding allegedly caused by adverse Eliquis side effects.

 Ohio plaintiff Robert F. is filing legal action on behalf of his late wife Kathlyn F., after she was prescribed and ingested Eliquis to treat her atrial fibrillation. The widower is suing the pharmaceutical giants for negligence and wrongful death, stating his wife would not have died if not for Eliquis.

After a short time on the drug, Kathlyn had reportedly suffered an internal bleeding event in June 2014. Ultimately, she died from this injury, despite emergency medical intervention. According to Robert’s Eliquis lawsuit, his wife had followed all prescription instructions and physician advice while taking the medication.

Even though his wife was diligent in these precautions, she had still suffered unexpected internal bleeding events. The Eliquis side effects on the warning label were allegedly ambiguously worded and did not adequately explain the severity of the risks.

Overview of Eliquis Side Effects

Eliquis is a new generation anticoagulant, or blood thinner, created to directly compete against other anticoagulants on the market. Approved by the FDA in 2012, the drug was released as a joint effort between Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Eliquis is the most recent addition to the new generation of blood thinners, along with Pradaxa and Xarelto, each of which were meant to directly compete against the original blood thinner Warfarin. Similar to its predecessors, Eliquis was advertised to be superior to Wafarin in efficiency and convenience.

In contrast, Warfarin patients often had to regularly see their physicians for dose adjustments. However, unlike other available anticoagulants, Warfarin has a widely available reversal agent to stop internal bleeding injuries. Each of the anticoagulants work by inhibiting the body’s clotting ability, in order to prevent blood clot formation.

However, this mechanism becomes dangerous if the patient suffers internal bleeding injuries, requiring emergency intervention to prevent death. Even though this is a potentially fatal injury, this risk is allegedly not adequately explained in the Eliquis side effects section on the drug’s warning label.

According to the Eliquis lawsuit, Kathlyn had no way of knowing the risk of internal bleeding and had no reason to expect it. Furthermore, the Eliquis lawsuit states the manufacturing companies made no effort to warn her or her physicians of internal bleeding.

Robert insists that if his wife had known the severity of the Eliquis side effects, then she never would have agreed to take Eliquis. So for being allegedly responsible for manufacturing, selling, distributing, and marketing a dangerous drug, Robert is suing Pfizer and Bristol-Myers.

The Eliquis Lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court of Southern New York.