A growing number of patients are reporting serious complications and injuries from Pradaxa, including excessive bleeding.

Anticoagulants, or blood thinner drugs, are a common method used to treat blood clotting. Blood clots can cause serious injuries or fatal complications, and the use of an anticoagulant is a very popular method of preventing these problems.

However, blood thinners are not without their own share of risks. Some patients claim that blood thinners like Pradaxa can actually cause more harm than the complications they are meant to prevent. Some have even gone on to file a Pradaxa lawsuit against the manufacturer, claiming patients were not adequately warned about the danger associated with this medication.

Pradaxa Background

Pradaxa (also known by its generic name dabigatran) is one of the most popular anticoagulant options and is manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals. Pradaxa was introduced to the market only recently—it was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2010, less than a decade ago.

Even though it’s only been on the market for several years, millions of patients have already made the switch to Pradaxa. It is important for patients to be aware of the complications that have been linked with Pradaxa prior to making the decision to switch to this blood thinner option.

Complications Associated with Pradaxa

Pradaxa can cause excessive bruising and bleeding—a problem that is true of any anticoagulant. The function of an anticoagulant is to lessen the risk of blood clotting, and an unavoidable side effect of this is a tendency to bruise more easily and bleed more freely. In some cases, this doesn’t become too much of an issue. Patients may simply notice more bruises than usual.

Unfortunately, these issues can manifest in a much more serious form if a patient is involved in an accident or suffers from internal bleeding. In these cases, with the body unable to effectively form blood clots to stem the bleeding, the patient may bleed excessively to the point of serious problems—or, in the worst cases, even death.

Even with these potential bleeding problems, anticoagulants generally come with an antidote to reverse the effects. The anticoagulant warfarin, the leading option for decades, and many other anticoagulants have available antidotes. There was a period of time after Pradaxa’s release onto the market when it lacked such an antidote, placing patients at serious risk. Pradaxa now has an antidote available to counteract its side effects, but it may have come too late for some.

Pradaxa side effects include heart attacks, liver failure, uncontrollable bleeding, and even death. The most common of these complications is excessive bleeding, which in turn can lead to brain hemorrhaging or death.

The danger posed by these blood thinner safety problems is significant: hundreds of Pradaxa bleeding problems have resulted in fatalities so far.

Filing a Pradaxa Lawsuit

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals has been hit with thousands of lawsuits for inadequate blood thinner safety warnings. Lawsuits allege that the blood thinner’s manufacturer failed to adequately warn the public, as well as the medical community as a whole, about the potential blood thinner safety problems linked to their drug.

If you or someone you love has taken Pradaxa and has subsequently experienced any of the above symptoms, such as excessive bleeding or brain hemorrhaging, you may have cause for filing a Pradaxa lawsuit. Filing a Pradaxa lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by Pradaxa bleeding problems, but it can help to alleviate the financial burden incurred by medical expenses and lost wages.