Compensation may be available for patients who experienced Pradaxa hemorrhaging while on the anticoagulant drug.

Pradaxa (dabigatran) was approved by the FDA in 2010 as a blood thinner marketed as a superior option to warfarin, the industry anticoagulant standard. Pradaxa was marketed as better than warfarin because it allegedly required less monitoring and no change in diet.

Quickly following FDA approval, Pradaxa hemorrhaging was reported by patients to be a serious, life threatening side effect which caused a multitude of injuries. In the first three months on the market, the FDA received 307 reports of Pradaxa hemorrhaging events involving internal bleeding, gastrointestinal bleeding, and more.

Within the first year on the market, there were more than 260 reported Pradaxa-related deaths from internal bleeding, hemorrhage, and stoke. In December 2011, the FDA released a warning notifying patients and physicians of the serious uncontrollable bleeding which may be attributed to the use of Pradaxa.

All blood thinning and anticoagulant drugs cause bleeding and run the risk of excessive bleeding if not properly monitored. However, Pradaxa allegedly has an increased risk of severe internal bleeding at any dose. Symptoms of internal bleeding or hemorrhage include unusual bruising, frequent nose bleeds, bleeding from the gums, discolored urine, red or black stools, coughing up blood, and vomiting blood.

Pradaxa hemorrhaging lawsuits allege that the root of the problem behind Pradaxa is that there is no quick and effective way to reverse internal bleeding once it starts. The only way to stop internal bleeding related to Pradaxa is to completely flush the body via dialysis. This process can take hours and can result in multiple blood transfusions or death.

For patients taking warfarin, abnormal bleeding can be counteracted by flushing the body with vitamin K. Vitamin K allows blood to clot normally and would typically stop internal bleeding symptoms before they reached alarming levels. There are also emergency reversal agents available to medical professionals should severe internal bleeding occur in a medical setting. Despite Pradaxa being marketed as superior to warfarin, there is no similar solution available for internal bleeding while taking Pradaxa.

Thousands of Pradaxa hemorrhaging lawsuits have been filed against Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of the drug, alleging that the manufacturer misled consumers regarding the safety of Pradaxa. Some lawsuits argue that Boehringer Ingelheim knew that severe internal bleeding was a side effect of Pradaxa but didn’t notify patients, physicians, or the FDA and instead purposefully hid the fact from consumers.

Pradaxa lawsuits in the federal court system were consolidated into a single multidistrict litigation to facilitate more efficient processing. In 2014, Boehringer Ingelheim settled around 4,000 such cases for a total of $65o million. But even since then, reports of Pradaxa hemorrhaging continue.

A Pradaxa lawsuit could help recover financial damages, medical expenses, time away from work, pain and suffering, and more. If you or a loved one experienced internal bleeding, kidney bleeding, gastrointestinal bleeding, heart attack, stroke, brain hemorrhage, or death after taking Pradaxa, you may qualify for a legal claim and be entitled to compensation.