The dates are set for the first few trials selected from a massive group of Xarelto internal bleeding lawsuits.

Trials will be conducted at federal courts in Louisiana and Texas. The first two trials are set to begin in Louisiana in February and March of next year. Two more will begin in Texas that April and May.

These four Xarelto internal bleeding lawsuits were selected from over 2,800 similar actions that have been consolidated into a single multidistrict litigation (MDL) in federal court.

This MDL was created in December 2014 in an effort to organize the increasing number of Xarelto internal bleeding lawsuits being filed against defendants Bayer AG and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the companies that make Xarelto.

A similar grouping of Xarelto lawsuits has been brought together in a Pennsylvania state court, with over 550 claims consolidated into the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

The plaintiffs in these Xarelto internal bleeding lawsuits are generally former patients who suffered a dangerous episode of bleeding while taking Xarelto. Some plaintiffs are the surviving relatives of Xarelto patients who allegedly died from their injuries.

In bringing these claims, plaintiffs have an opportunity to seek compensation for financial losses like medical expenses or costs of funerals and burial. They can also seek compensation for losses that are not as easily measured, such as emotional trauma and physical pain and suffering.

Xarelto Internal Bleeding Lawsuits Raise Safety Issues

Generally, these plaintiffs take issue with the risk of dangerous bleeding associated with Xarelto. They say that Bayer and Janssen knew about the risk of Xarelto bleeding. They accuse the defendant pharmaceutical companies of negligently failing to properly warn the public and the medical community about that risk.

Plaintiffs point out that when Xarelto was initially approved by the FDA in 2011, there was no available antidote that could reverse its anticoagulant effect during a bleeding emergency. In that regard, Xarelto was different from other anticoagulants.

The older drugs could be counteracted by administering vitamin K. But for the first several years that Xarelto was on the market, patients simply had to live with the greater danger presented by the lack of a Xarelto antidote.

In addition to the greater risks associated with bleeding injuries, plaintiffs also say the drug increases patients’ risks of strokes, blood clots, eye hemorrhages and gastrointestinal bleeding, among other complications.

Using Bellwethers to Facilitate Settlements

In mass tort consolidations like the MDL, courts sometimes select a few cases to be the first to go to trial as “bellwether” cases. These first few trials are intended to give all parties an idea of how the available evidence and arguments will play out in front of a jury.

While the results of the bellwether trials aren’t binding on the other claims in the MDL, having an idea of how their claims would play out at trial makes it easier for the opposing parties to come to an agreement on whether or not to settle the claims and for how much money.