Since receiving FDA approval in 2010, the blood-thinning drug Pradaxa (dabigatran) has become front and center in a slew of products liability lawsuits.

Plaintiffs allege the drug is dangerous and that its manufacturer Boehringer Ingelheim was negligent in marketing and selling the drug.

A Pradaxa side effects lawyer can help in representing the best interests of victims of Pradaxa injuries who seek to hold Boehringer Ingelheim accountable for its actions and to secure compensation for their pain and suffering incurred as a result of taking the popular anticoagulant.

Pradaxa Bleeding Side Effects

Pradaxa is a blood thinner commonly prescribed in order to help reduce the risk of stroke and blood clots in individuals with heart valves and irregular heart beat sufferers.

The side effects of Pradaxa were initially billed as similar to those of the drug’s predecessor warfarin. All blood thinners are recognized as having internal bleeding as a possible side effect, so the risks with Pradaxa bleeding side effects were accepted by the FDA as equal to those of warfarin.

However, almost immediately upon its release, serious Pradaxa bleeding side effects were reported, including:

• Cerebral hemorrhages or brain bleeds
• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• Life-threatening internal bleeding following a minor trauma, such as a fall
• Death from severe internal bleeding

Many in the pharmaceutical industry expressed concern that Pradaxa was rushed to the market very quickly, before there was enough information from clinical trials or testing for possible severe side effects.

Less than a year after its release, an unusually high number of cases of dangerous internal bleeding and even deaths in patients taking Pradaxa were reported.

In that same year of 2011, the FDA released a statement that Pradaxa may be more likely to cause life threatening internal bleeding than other drugs used for blood thinning purposes.

Pradaxa Antidote Comes Too Late For Many Patients

In October 2015, the FDA fast-tracked approval of Boehringer’s Pradaxa bleeding antidote, Praxbind.

However, this antidote may have come too late for those who suffered or died from internal bleeding, gastrointestinal bleeding, or brain bleeds associated with Pradaxa use.

Many Pradaxa patients who experienced severe injury from treatment or family members who lost a loved one to Pradaxa bleeding side effects have opted pursue legal recourse against Boehringer Ingelheim.

These cases center on the drug’s lack of an antidote prior to the release of Praxbind in October 2015.

These Pradaxa lawsuits claim that patients were not adequately warned, that the drug did not have an antidote to reverse its anti-clotting effects, and that the lack of a reversal agent put patients at risk for permanently disabling, life-threatening and fatal bleeding.

Furthermore, it is being alleged that emergency room doctors, surgeons and other medical professionals were not properly warned about the drug’s lack of an antidote, and were left without an effective way to treat and stabilize Pradaxa users who experienced uncontrollable or excessive bleeding.

How a Pradaxa Side Effects Lawyer Can Help

If you have experienced severe internal bleeding or hemorrhaging linked with taking Pradaxa, contact an experienced Pradaxa side effects lawyer now.

A Pradaxa side effects lawyer can advise you on your legal rights and guide you through the legal process if you choose to pursue compensation for your Pradaxa injuries through a lawsuit against Boehringer Ingelheim.

An experienced Pradaxa side effects lawyer can help represent you and ensure you explore all the legal options available to achieve justice for the pain and suffering you have endured.

It is important to act quickly when filing a Pradaxa lawsuit, as certain laws limit the amount of time sufferers of Pradaxa side effects have in which to report a claim and pursue their legal rights.