Ashley Milano  |  July 26, 2016

Category: Legal News

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 Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb are facing an Eliquis wrongful death lawsuit, alleging that their blood thinner Eliquis (also known as apixaban) is dangerous and should not be prescribed.

The surviving spouse of a Mississippi man, Plaintiff Judy B. filed the Eliquis wrongful death lawsuit on June 23 on behalf of her deceased husband, Donald B.

Judy alleges that the manufacturers of the blood thinner medication,  Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb,  failed to warn patients and physicians of the increased risks of irreversible and fatal internal bleeding when using Eliquis.

According to the Eliquis wrongful death lawsuit, Donald was prescribed Eliquis in June 2015 because of a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat).

Less than three months later, Donald suffered from internal bleeding allegedly a direct result of Eliquis injuries which ultimately led to his death on September 10, 2015.

The Eliquis wrongful death lawsuit claims that Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb knew of the Eliquis side effects and continued to sell it even though they knew the dangerous risks.

What is Eliquis?

Eliquis (apixaban) was developed jointly by Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb and is an anticoagulant, or blood thinner medication, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2012.

Originally, Eliquis was approved for stroke prevention in patients who have a heartbeat irregularity known as atrial fibrillation. Use was later expanded to patients at risk for pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis, conditions also caused by blood clots.

Eliquis is in the same family of anticoagulants as Pradaxa and Xarelto. These medications were widely proclaimed to be far superior to the previous blood thinning medication, warfarin (Coumadin), because they reportedly don’t require patient blood monitoring and have fewer dietary restrictions.

Eliquis Injuries: Internal Bleeding

All anticoagulants are designed to reduce the likelihood of dangerous blood clots. However, this also means that it is more difficult for blood to clot in necessary situations.

When a patient develops internal bleeding or hemorrhaging while taking warfarin, the bleeding event can be stopped with a dose of Vitamin K. What the makers of Eliquis were not perhaps forthcoming about is that at this time there is no such reversal agent for Eliquis injuries such as internal bleeding, an Eliquis side effect which may be fatal.

Like all anticoagulants, there is a risk that Eliquis will produce internal bleeding. Since Eliquis is just entering the market, there is no way to know whether Eliquis will cause fewer problems than Pradaxa and Xarelto.

Patients should bear in mind, however, that Eliquis shares the most serious problem associated with the other two drugs: the lack of an antidote that will reverse its anticoagulant effects.

An article in the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine places Eliquis in the same risk category as Pradaxa and Xarelto, noting that doctors have serious difficulty managing the internal bleeding that the three drugs produce.

Eliquis Wrongful Death Lawsuit Information

So far, nearly 1,000 Eliquis patients have suffered major or fatal internal bleeding. Due to the growing use of Eliquis and the potential that the drug’s risks were not disclosed to patients, lawyers anticipate that hundreds of Eliquis patients may eventually come forward to file Eliquis lawsuits.

These Eliquis lawsuits will likely allege that the makers of the drug failed to properly warn users of internal bleeding risks or that no antidote is available for bleeding emergencies. They may also allege that the drug companies hid data about its risks.

If you or your loved one has suffered from Eliquis side effects or even wrongful death due to Eliquis injuires, you may be entitled to substantial compensation.

The Eliquis Wrongful Death Lawsuit is Case No. 1:16-cv-04904, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

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

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Get Help – It’s Free

Join a Free Eliquis Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you or a loved one took Eliquis (apixaban) and suffered injuries such as uncontrollable internal bleeding, gastrointestinal bleeding, hemorrhaging, kidney bleeding or death, you may have a legal claim. See if you qualify by filling out the short form below.

An attorney will contact you if you qualify to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you.

Please Note: If you want to participate in this investigation, it is imperative that you reply to the law firm if they call or email you. Failing to do so may result in you not getting signed up as a client, if you qualify, or getting you dropped as a client.

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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.