In late April 2017, plaintiff Frank D. filed his Eliquis uncontrollable bleeding lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. Frank D. says he was prescribed Eliquis, an anticoagulant also known as apixaban, for his paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation occurs in the upper chambers of the cardiac muscle, where electrical signals controlling beat rhythm become disorganized and cause the heart to pulse chaotically and ineffectively.

Frank D. brings his legal complaints against the developers, manufacturers, and promoters of the anticoagulant, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Pfizer Inc. In this Eliquis uncontrollable bleeding lawsuit, the plaintiff talks about a serious medical event (SME) in late February 2016. In said SME, Frank D. says, he required transfusions and a lengthy hospitalization to deal with an episode of out-of-control hemorrhaging.

In this Eliquis uncontrollable bleeding lawsuit, the plaintiff accuses the defendants of causing him extreme physical pain and suffering. He also named part of the nature of his suffering to be economic, as the SME resulted in astronomical medical bills.

Eliquis Uncontrollable Bleeding Lawsuit Claims Lack of Truth in Advertising

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer are accused in this Eliquis uncontrollable bleeding lawsuit of running a study in China on the drug that had poor supervision, missing data, and numerous errors.

This study was known as ARISTOTLE, and a report later generated from it for The New England Journal of Medicine was found to have significant flaws by the respected publication.

Based on the flaws in that study, Frank D. says, the defendants did not prove with the study that Eliquis was superior to the well-known and time-tested anticoagulant warfarin, also known as Coumadin.

The defendants marketing tack had been that Eliquis was better because it didn’t require constant blood monitoring. Blood monitoring has been a necessary part of treatment with warfarin since its development.

Did Bristol-Myers and Pfizer Willfully Conceal Facts in Eliquis Uncontrollable Bleeding Lawsuit?

Eliquis has no antidote that can reverse its effect should rapid hemorrhaging occur. Anticoagulants thin the blood as they are primarily a prophylactic or preventative treatment for blood clots. Most often, blood clots occur in the recovery phase of total joint replacement surgeries.

Some people are also more prone to their development in general, however. Traveling blood clots can obscure cardiac and pulmonary veins and arteries which can lead to myocardial infarction and respiratory arrest.

If they get as far as the brain, blood clots can also cause a stroke. In patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation, such as the plaintiff, Frank D., anticoagulants are prescribed to primarily prevent stroke. All the above SMEs can have devastating and permanent consequences.

In this Eliquis uncontrollable bleeding lawsuit, the plaintiff accuses the defendants of failing to warn the public regarding the lack of an antidote.

According to Frank D., a black box with bolded words should have been placed on the product’s label from the beginning, but the defendants allegedly sought to suppress and hide the information for private financial gain.