A new blood thinner medication lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, joining many other claims filed in a multidistrict litigation over the drug Xarelto.

According to the blood thinner medication lawsuit, plaintiff Billie W. took Xarelto—a member of the New Oral Anticoagulant (NOAC) family of drugs—from mid-January 2013 to early October 2014 under the advisement and supervision of her family physician. Billie says she agreed to take the drug in reliance upon the information provided by the developer and manufacturer.

The plaintiff was, according to the narrative of the blood thinner medication lawsuit, caused to suffer a gastrointestinal bleed on two occasions as a direct consequence of taking Xarelto. The first event happened on Sept. 23, 2014 and the second on Oct. 4, 2014 at which point Billie says treatment with the NOAC ceased.

Billie claims she suffered life-threatening adverse medical events which created permanent physical and emotional issues and burdened her with a load of debt from hospitalization and ongoing medical care. Additionally, the plaintiff attests in this blood thinner medication lawsuit that she lost potential earned income as a result of the sustained recovery period and disability.

She alleges that the manufacturers of Xarelto failed to thoroughly test the drug for safety prior to registering a new drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

According to purported data from clinical trials, Xarelto demonstrated the tendency to produce serious bleeding episodes early on. Once approval from the drug oversight agency was gained, Billie claims, the defendants supposedly advertised, marketed, and distributed the medication without an adequate warning as to its potential dangers.

The Xarelto blood thinner medication lawsuit was filed on May 31, 2018. The named defendants in the Xarelto blood thinner medication lawsuit are Janssen Research and Development and related subsidiaries, the Johnson & Johnson Co., and Bayer Pharmaceuticals Inc. and related subsidiaries.

Billie is seeking a trial by jury with a favorable outcome that includes a compensatory and economic award for damages that includes court costs and prejudgment and postjudgment interest. She hopes for the assessment of punitive damages against the defendants as well.

The History of Xarelto

According to the blood thinner medication lawsuit, Xarelto was approved for the commercial marketplace in July 2011, respectively. The first approval was for the prophylaxis (preventative) treatment of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and Pulmonary Embolism (PE) in patients undergoing hip or knee replacements. A later approval in November 2011 was to reduce the risk of stroke and embolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation of the heart—a heart rhythm disorder.

Approval for both Xarelto usages was based on studies that came to be called RECORD and ROCKET AF. As Xarelto was created to compete with warfarin—an anticoagulant medication used for decades—RECORD and ROCKET AF studies indicated that the NOAC was superior in the prevention of blood clots and reduction in risk of strokes. The studies also showed more incidents of bleeding with lower hemoglobin factors and a greater need for transfusion—a finding which plaintiffs like Billie claim was allegedly suppressed.

The Blood Thinner Medication Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-05527-EEF-MBN in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.