Pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb are facing a new blood thinner lawsuit, from an Alabama man alleging internal bleeding due to Eliquis side effects.

The plaintiff was only on the new generation anticoagulant for several days before reportedly suffering bleeding on the brain.

Plaintiff Lester B. had been prescribed Eliquis to treat his atrial fibrillation and to lower his chances of stroke. On July 26, 2014 he began taking the medication, with his blood thinner lawsuit stating that he suffered from Eliquis side effects just two days later.

Lester was admitted into intensive care after experiencing numbness and after losing control of his right hand. Lester underwent a CT scan, which showed bleeding on the brain and was rushed into intensive care.

A day later, he underwent another CT scan that showed that the size of the hemorrhage had increased. At this point, Lester had been taken off the anticoagulant to prevent any further Eliquis side effects.

According to the blood thinner lawsuit, Lester had to remain hospitalized until Aug. 03, 2014 before being determined to be safe to go home. At some point after he was released, Lester learned of the severity of Eliquis side effects and that the manufacturing companies had failed to address them.

Lester claims that in direct result of the companies’ product, he had suffered bleeding on the brain and other unforeseen complications.

Eliquis Side Effects & Bleeding Complications

Eliquis is the most recent addition to the new generation anticoagulant family, and was approved by the FDA in 2012. Released as a joint effort by Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eliquis directly competes with other new generation anticoagulants and the original clotting treatment drug Warfarin.

Eliquis and the other newer anticoagulants were advertised to be more efficient and effective than Warfarin, with patients being able to take them in one consistent dose. Warfarin patients have to go to frequent doctor appointments for dose adjustments and be under heavy medical monitoring.

While Eliquis does not have these requirements, it also lacks the same bleeding antidote its competitors Pradxa and Xarelto. In the case of internal bleeding injuries, Warfarin patients apply vitamin K to reverse the effects. Eliquis currently does not have an approved reversal method on the market.

Lester and a number of other patients reportedly suffered a number of Eliquis side effects pertaining to internal bleeding. Bleeding on the brain and internal gastrointestinal hemorrhaging are amongst some of the most severe Eliquis side effects, which can be potentially fatal if not treated.

Many Eliquis patients have gone on to file their own blood thinner lawsuits, claiming that the pharmaceutical companies failed to warn them of the drug’s potential complications. Lester insists that he never would have taken the drug if he had been aware of the dangerous Eliquis side effects.

The Eliquis blood thinner lawsuit is  Case No. 1:15-cv-00379-KD-M, in the U.S. District Court of Southern Alabama.