A federal judge announced the dates for four bellwether trials in the Xarelto multidistrict litigation (MDL).

Bellwether trials are the initial trials in large-scale litigation, such as the Xarelto injury lawsuits, and are conducted to help gauge the response of juries to evidence and testimony that may be repeated throughout the litigation.

The potential discovery and trial schedule discussed by U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon, of the Eastern District of Louisiana, who is presiding over the Xarelto MDL, calls for the first Xarelto trial to begin on Feb. 6, 2017, followed by a second trial on March 13, 2017, a third trial on April 24, 2017, and the fourth trial on May 30, 2017.

The judge proposed that the first two trials take place in the Eastern District of Louisiana, the third in the Southern District of Texas, and the fourth in the Southern District of Mississippi.

Court documents also indicate the cases that will go before these juries will be selected from a pool of 40 cases. The selection process has also been outlined in the recent order, with specific dates set to complete various stages of the process.

The first 40 cases will be determined by Jan. 11, 2016, with the plaintiff choosing 10, the defendant choosing 10 and the remaining 20 selected randomly. The final selection of bellwether trials is slated to be completed by Aug. 1, 2016.

About Xarelto

Xarelto is part of a class of blood thinners called Xa inhibitors. Xa inhibitors work differently than the traditional blood thinners by blocking the agent in the blood responsible for making the blood clot, thrombin. By blocking thrombin, Xarelto takes away the blood’s ability to form clots.

This is the desirable effect of a blood thinner but it dangerous in regards to Xarelto because Xarelto does not have a corresponding antidote to reverse the drug’s effects. This means that if a patient suffers an internal bleeding injury and is taking Xarelto, then there is no way, short of extreme lifesaving medical measures, to stop the bleeding.

Overview of Xarelto Allegations

The Xarelto MDL was formed in December 2014 after a motion was made to consolidate the many lawsuits filed that made similar allegations concerning the blood thinner against the same defendants, the manufacturers of the drug Bayer AG and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subdivision of Johnson  &Johnson. There are more than 1,200 cases filed in the Xarelto MDL.

Plaintiffs in the consolidated litigation allege that defendants over-promoted the drug as a safe and convenient alternative to the anticoagulant manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb called Coumadin (warfarin).

In particular, the Defendants marketed Xarelto by asserting that, unlike other blood thinners, Xarelto required minimal adjustments and blood monitoring. However, the defendants allegedly failed to warn patients that unlike Coumadin, which can be counteracted by vitamin K, there was no antidote to the anticoagulation effects of Xarelto.

These lawsuits also commonly allege that Xarelto can cause severe, uncontrollable internal bleeding which can lead to serious injuries and death in patients. The lawsuits further allege that the manufactures of Xarelto failed to adequately warn patients and doctors about the true risks of the drug and were negligent and reckless by releasing the drug onto the market knowing of the  dangers.

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