A Louisiana woman blames her Xarelto stroke on allegedly inadequate warnings from manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

Plaintiff Cheryl S., says she began taking Xarelto at the direction of her doctor on Nov. 26, 2012, and continued to take the medication as instructed through Nov. 1, 2014.

Before she was eventually taken off the drug, she claims she suffered a stroke (known medically as a cerebrovascular accident, or CVA) on May 15, 2014. Because of the stroke, Cheryl was admitted to the hospital from May 15 through May 21.

However, this initial stroke was not the end of Cheryl’s Xarelto-related suffering, she claims. She says she was later admitted to the hospital from July 14, 2014 to July 22, 2014, and diagnosed with another stroke.

This Xarelto stroke lawsuit was filed on multiple counts, including but not limited to strict liability, manufacturing defect, defective design, failure to warn, negligence, breach of express warranty, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, and loss of consortium.

Xarelto Basics

Xarelto (also known by its generic name, rivaroxaban) is a new anticoagulant, or blood thinner, manufactured and sold by Janssen Pharmaceuticals. Janssen is a prominent subsidiary of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. Since its release onto the market, Xarelto has quickly become one of the most popular blood thinning drugs available.

Xarelto and other blood thinners are used to treat and prevent the formation of blood clots, as well as conditions related to such clotting. Blood clots and blood clotting conditions such as strokes can be very dangerous for patients, so blood thinners or other methods of blood clot prevention and treatment are widely used.

Despite the popularity of Xarelto and other anticoagulants, there are a growing number of legal claims being filed over a variety of Xarelto complications, including serious problems like stroke—despite the fact that Xarelto is often used to prevent stroke.

Xarelto Stroke Complications

Although any medication comes with mild side effects, some patients who take Xarelto suffer from serious complications such as stroke, excessive bleeding, and brain hemorrhaging.

In extreme situations like a serious accident or an emergency surgery, the body naturally combats excessive bleeding by forming blood clots. Patients on a blood thinning drug like Xarelto, however, may be unable to form life-saving blood clots that would prevent excessive bleeding. This inability to form blood clots can lead to excessive bleeding.

While traditional anticoagulants like warfarin have an antidote to reverse their blood thinning effects, Xarelto has no such antidote. Without an available antidote, patients may die from an injury that would otherwise have been treatable.

Xarelto Stroke Lawsuits

According to Xarelto lawsuits, Janssen either knew or should have known about the potential for stroke and other side effects, yet endangered patients by failing to adequately warn consumers and the wider medical community about these risks.

Plaintiffs allege that they would have been able to choose an alternative method of blood clot prevention and therefore avoided these Xarelto complications entirely had they been adequately warned.

If you or someone you love has suffered from Xarelto related complications such as a stroke, you may be able to file a Xarelto lawsuit.

The Xarelto Stroke Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-01168-EEF-MBN, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.