A California resident has joined the growing Xarelto bleeding multidistrict litigation (MDL) centralized in Louisiana.

Plaintiffs Valerie T. has added her Xarelto lawsuit to the Xarelto MDL, which is addressing the complaints of many plaintiffs who claim that they were not warned of the severe and, in some cases, life-threatening side effects of the blood thinner.

Plaintiffs who have joined the Xarelto MDL allege the medication caused injuries, including: gastrointestinal bleeding, pulmonary bleeding, internal bleeding and deep vein thrombosis.

Xarelto Bleeding Complications Overview

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Xarelto in 2011 to treat atrial fibrillation and to be used as a blood clot treatment for patients after knee or hip replacement surgery.

The “new” blood thinner was marketed by using direct-to-consumer advertising, which encouraged patients to ask their physician about Xarelto. Within just a few years, Xarelto gained in popularity as manufacturers claim that it’s the #1 blood thinner in its class, with 11 million prescriptions in the U.S. alone.

Xarelto was marketed to consumers as a “more convenient” blood thinner when compared to the traditional anticoagulant Warfarin (Coumadin). Xarelto manufacturers claimed that consumers taking the new blood thinner would not have any dietary restrictions or have to endure regular blood testing.

However, the FDA began receiving reports of serious Xarelto internal bleeding side effects within a few months of being on the market. In just a few years, the federal agency has received thousands of adverse event reports concerning Xarelto side effects; hundreds of those Xarelto injury reports claim Xarelto caused a hemorrhage related death.

Xarelto Bleeding Risks

In a recent study published in the British Medical Journal, researchers set out to compare the relatively new blood thinner to the Warfarin, which has been on the market for decades.

The Xarelto study followed more than 45,000 patients on an anticoagulant as they tried to determine if either medication posed an increased risk of bleeding complications.

Researchers found that those patients taking Xarelto were twice as likely to experience gastrointestinal bleeding than those patients taking Warfarin.

Other commonly reported Xarelto side effects include:

• Low blood pressure
• Abnormal liver function
• Rectal bleeding
• Brain hemorrhaging
• Bruising
• Rapid heartbeat
• Reduced platelet levels
• Nose bleeds
• Dizziness
• Hemorrhaging in the eyes

Xarelto Internal Bleeding Lawsuits

Although the risk of a bleeding event could occur with taking any blood thinner, those who have filed Xarelto lawsuits claim they were unaware that should excessive bleeding occur, there would be no reversal agent to get it under control.

Unlike Coumadin consumers who can be given a dose of Vitamin K to stop a bleeding event, Xarelto patients must endure multiple blood transfusions, as the only way to stop the Xarelto bleeding side effects is to get the medication out of the blood system.

In general, plaintiffs who have filed Xarelto lawsuits allege that Johnson & Johnson and it’s subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals along with Bayer did not adequately warn Xarelto consumers that there is no antidote for Xarelto bleeding.

At this point, Xarelto manufacturers face several hundred complaints, but the MDL is expected to reach more than one thousand claims before the trial begins.

The Xarelto Bleeding MDL is In re: Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2592, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.