A Florida man has filed a Xarelto lawsuit against the manufacturers of the anticoagulant medication, claiming he has suffered personal injuries because of his use of Xarelto.

Plaintiff William F., according to his Xarelto lawsuit, claims he began taking Xarelto on or around January 28, 2014, upon the direction of his physician. On May 27, 2014, William experienced uncontrollable bleeding because of taking Xarelto, he alleges.

William’s Xarelto internal bleeding lawsuit states that he “suffered serious and dangerous side effects including but not limited to, physical pain and mental anguish, diminished enjoyment of life, and financial expenses for hospitalization and medical care.”

Xarelto Internal Bleeding Lawsuit Joins MDL

William’s claim is filed as part of a large multidistrict litigation, or MDL, centered on allegations that Xarelto, manufactured by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, caused patients to suffer injuries more than what they were led to expect.

Plaintiffs in this litigation allege the manufacturers negligently represented that Xarelto had been found safe and effective for use.

Lawsuits filed against Xarelto’s manufacturers allege that the companies were negligent in a several ways. Allegations include claims that Xarelto’s labeling does not sufficiently warn about its adverse effects, that the drug presents an unreasonable risk of injury, and that Xarelto does not in fact provide greater patient benefits as it lacks a reversal agent for internal bleeding complications.

Overview of Xarelto

Xarelto, generically known as rivaroxaban, is prescribed to reduce the risks of pulmonary embolism (PE), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), strokes, and blood clots.

In 2011, Xarelto was initially approved by the FDA for the treatment of the risk of stroke associated with atrial fibrillation. A-fib is a condition where there is an irregular and often rapid heart rate that causes poor blood circulation in the heart. Caused by abnormal electrical signals, it decreases the ability of the upper chambers of the heart (atria) to pump blood into the ventricles.

Additionally, whereas DVT is the condition in which a blood clot forms in the body’s lower extremities, PE occurs one or more arteries in the lungs becomes blocked by a blood clot.

The purpose of anticoagulant medications, like Xaralto, is to help prevent a patient from developing strokes and other types of life threatening conditions.

Serious Adverse Side Effects of Xarelto

Plaintiffs take issue with the fact that Xarelto has been represented by the manufacturer as superior to previous types of blood thinners.

In fact, critics argue that Xarelto is actually more dangerous than other anticoagulants. Unlike older anticoagulants, such as warfarin, internal bleeding that occurs in a patient taking Xarelto cannot be stopped, even by a physician. Warfarin does have a reversal agent to stop dangerous bleeding, unlike Xarelto. Administering vitamin K will reverse the effects of warfarin.

Unfortunately, the nature of an anticoagulant medication is that it makes it difficult for blood to clot. This means that when the body requires the blood to clot to stop the effects of dangerous bleeding, those who take Xarelto do not have a reversal agent that can undo Xarelto’s anticoagulant effect.

Patients who have taken Xarelto claim to have suffered from the following serious side effects: stroke, excessive blood loss, adrenal bleeding, epidural hematoma, wound infection and complication, retinal hemorrhages, abdominal hemorrhages, and intracranial hemorrhages.

Those who file a Xarelto internal bleeding lawsuit, like William, claim they were not sufficiently warned about adverse bleeding side effects and the lack of an approved reversal agent.

William is filing this Xarelto internal bleeding lawsuit on claims of negligence, strict products liability, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, negligent misrepresentation, fraud and misrepresentation and violation of consumer protection laws.

William’s Xarelto Internal Bleeding Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-12178-EEF-MBN in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The Xarelto MDL is In re: Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2592, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.