Lawsuit Alleges Pradaxa Caused Fatal Internal Bleeding

Plaintiff Robena Manning has sued the manufacturers of Pradaxa over the death of Lu Byrd Carpenter, alleging that the drug caused a fatal, uncontrolled bleeding incident that ended in Carpenter’s death.

Pradaxa is an anticoagulant, or a blood thinner. This type of drug makes it harder for blood to clot, or breaks up existing clots. Since errant blood clots can cause Deep Vein Thrombosis, stroke, and certain types of heart attack, anticoagulants are uses to treat or prevent such disorders. However, all anticoagulants carry the risk of causing uncontrolled bleeding, since the body can no longer stop bleeding by clotting. Older-generation anticoagulants like Warfarin have reversal agents, a second drug which can “shut off” the drugs’ effects. However, Pradaxa has no such agent.

Carpenter was prescribed Pradaxa prior to April 6, 2013, the day Carpenter suffered from a gastrointestinal bleeding, and several related medical emergencies. Manning’s lawsuit holds that the manufacturers were aware – or reasonably should have been aware –of the risk of uncontrolled bleeding associated with their product. The lawsuit cites the fact that for several years, various countries’ public health apparatuses have issued warnings about uncontrolled bleeding in Pradaxa patients, as wells a postmarket reports of this complication. The lawsuit alleges that despite this knowledge, the manufacturers aggressively promoted Pradaxa.

In fact, in 2010, the manufacturers spent tens of millions of dollars promoting the drug, even though it only debuted for sale in October that year. In 2011, the manufacturers had 1.5 direct marketing meetings with various healthcare professionals to promote Pradaxa. During this timeframe, they also had direct-to-consumer advertising, which was received by Carpenter. According to the lawsuit,  the information provided did not warn of the risk of uncontrollable bleeding or mention that there is no known reversal agent for Pradaxa, unlike older anticoagulants.

The Pradaxa lawsuit is Robena Manning, as a Representative of the Estate of Lue Byrd Carpenter v. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., et al., Case No. 3:13-cv-51582-DRH-SCW, within the Pradaxa MDL In Re: Pradaxa (Dabigatran Etexilate) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2385, filed in United States District Court, Southern District of Illinois.

If you, or someone you care about, suffered from uncontrollable bleeding after using Pradaxa, you have almost certainly been through a trying ordeal. Uncontrolled bleeding is a medical emergency, and forces you to put your life on hold. This can translate to mounting medical bills, lost wages, and in some unfortunate cases, final expenses. But regardless of the situation you’ve found yourself facing, you need to remember that you still have rights, and there are steps that you can take to regain a measure of control over your situation. You can start by visiting the Pradaxa Internal Bleeding Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. Here, you can enter information about your situation for a legal review by a trained expert with a background in this type of litigation. The initial consultation is completely free of charge and from it, you can receive addition guidance on the best steps to take in your specific situation.