As the Xarelto litigation movement continues to grow, some legal experts believe that the Xarelto lawsuits could grow into mass tort proportions, with others believing it is too early to tell.

The allegations surrounding the Xarelto lawsuits claim that the blood-thinner had caused uncontrollable, and sometimes, fatal bleeding injuries.

One lawyer from New York said that he received hundreds of Xarelto claims from across the nation, and has already filed a handful of these cases against Xarelto maker Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

He and many other lawyers believe that Xarelto is heading down the same path as Pradaxa, which cost drug maker Boehringer Ingelheim a $650 million settlement. Lawyers believe this because Pradaxa and Xarelto are prescribed to patients with atrial fibrillation for the purpose of preventing stroke, and have, essentially, the same biological mechanism. However, lawyers state that their plaintiffs’ medical records indicate more serious injuries related to Xarelto than with Pradaxa users.

Despite the numerous Xarelto lawsuits that were filed against Janssen Pharmaceuticals, it remains unclear of whether or not it will develop into a mass tort. While there is definitely potential for a mass tort, it also remains unclear of whether or not a multidistrict litigation (MDL) will be set up for the Xarelto lawsuits. Many lawyers state that the only reason as to why that predication remains unclear is because the Xarelto litigation is still in its early stages.

None of the commenting lawyers said they would be surprised if either of these litigation states were to happen, and that the nation is actually starting to see the beginning of it. Legal and marketing experts believe that part of why this problem is so widespread among new anticoagulants, like Pradaxa and Xarelto, is because they were marketed to be less trouble to monitor than the previous dominant anticoagulant, Warfarin.

Overview of Xarelto Allegations

For Xarelto in particular, Janssen stated in various advertisements that this drug did not require monitoring like Warfarin. However, what the advertisement did not say was that Xarelto did not have a reversal agent in the case of bleeding injuries, similar to what got Pradaxa in hot water.

Many of the Xarelto lawsuits against Janssen stated that the company did not warn patients or doctors about the risk of uncontrollable bleeding, with many medical experts calling for Xarelto to be withdrawn from the market.

Janssen Pharmaceuticals has been accused of knowingly marketing a dangerous drug with irreversible bleeding side effects, and hiding information regarding these Xarelto side effects from the FDA in order to get the agency’s approval.

At this point in time, Janssen Pharmaceuticals has admitted to no wrongdoing and that the Xarelto side effects are clearly stated on the drug’s label and on the company’s website. Additionally, the company argues that it is a highly beneficial drug to the market for certain patients, despite the numerous injury reports indicating otherwise.