Boehringer Ingelheim has recently called for removal of a Pradaxa lawsuit from the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court of St. Louis County in Missouri to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Pradaxa (dabigatran) is a relatively new anticoagulant drug manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals. It has, however, a short history of internal bleeding injuries.

Jurisdiction Concerns Boehringer

Boehringer claims that only one of the 68 plaintiffs in this Pradaxa lawsuit has a tie to the state of Missouri. The rest of the plaintiffs live throughout the U.S.

Because of plaintiff location, Boehringer is also filing a Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction the claims of the 67 plaintiffs who are part of this Pradaxa lawsuit but do not have any connection to Missouri.

The defendants ask that the court consider the personal jurisdiction issue before they consider subject matter jurisdiction. According to this motion, they explain that the courts have followed this precise approach in similar products liability cases.

They claim that the 67 plaintiffs who do not have connection to the state of Missouri are fraudulently connected with this Pradaxa lawsuit and “their presence in this lawsuit is a sham.”

In this Pradaxa lawsuit, the 68 plaintiffs assert that they had personal injuries as a result of Pradaxa use, a popular anticoagulant used to prevent stroke in those with atrial fibrillation.

These plaintiffs raise ten claims including failure to warn, design defect, marketing defect and construction or composition defect, negligence, breach of implied warranty, breach of express warranty, misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, gross negligence, and wrongful death.

Pradaxa Side Effects

Pradaxa is a popular blood thinner belonging to a class of drugs called Direct Thrombin Inhibitors. In 2010 it received FDA approval as an anticoagulant and was seen as a medication superior to the more common warfarin (Coumadin).

The reason Pradaxa gained popularity was that it required less patient monitoring and did not necessitate a change in diet of the patient.

But a risk of any blood thinner is uncontrollable internal bleeding. Warfarin users could be administered Vitamin K to stop a case of internal bleeding, but doctors had nothing to stop uncontrolled bleeding in Pradaxa users.

The FDA received over 300 reports of Pradaxa complications in the first three months it was on the market. These included internal bleeding, gastrointestinal bleeding, and other serious health complications.

By the end of the first year, 260 deaths were connected with Pradaxa.

Critics of Pradaxa claim that once a hemorrhage or internal bleed starts there is no way to stop the bleed unless a more invasive procedure is performed, like dialysis. This is time consuming and very risky.

In December 2011, the FDA issued a warning about the serious risk of uncontrollable internal bleeding associated with Pradaxa.

Filing a Pradaxa Lawsuit

Sometimes a class action lawsuit may not be the best strategy for someone injured by Pradaxa. In that case, an attorney representing you personally may be the best course of action.

If you are represented individually because you or a loved one has been injured by Pradaxa you may have a much better chance of being compensated for your injuries, medical treatment and pain and suffering due to Pradaxa side effects.

Pradaxa attorneys are also available to families who lost a loved one allegedly due to Pradaxa complications. If your loved one died while taking Pradaxa you may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

This Pradaxa lawsuit is Case No. 4:16-cv-01013 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.