A North Carolina man recently filed a lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals, alleging its anticoagulant Xarelto led him to suffer a serious Xarelto bleeding injury.

The plaintiff, Kenneth G., began taking Xarelto at the direction of his doctor on November 8, 2013. He continued this regular usage for just under a year, until Aug. 7, 2014. At that point, Kenneth alleges he suffered from a serious Xarelto bleeding injury, after he which he was forced to stop taking the medication immediately.

In response to his Xarelto bleeding injury, Kenneth chose to file a lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals. According to this lawsuit as well as others like it, Janssen failed to adequately warn both the public and the medical community about the serious bleeding risks linked with its anticoagulant, placing patients at substantial risk of Xarelto bleeding injury.

The lawsuit was filed on August 2 on multiple counts, including strict liability, design defect, failure to warn, negligence, breach of express and implied warranties, and fraud, among others.

Basics of Xarelto

Xarelto (also known by its generic name, rivaroxaban) is a fairly new blood thinning drug, and was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on July 1, 2011. Xarelto is manufactured and distributed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a prominent subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, and is meant to prevent blood clots and the problems caused by blood clotting. It is mainly prescribed to treat and prevent deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, conditions that both involve blood clotting.

Xarelto belongs to a new class of blood thinner drugs that also includes the popular drugs Pradaxa and Eliquis. These anticoagulants are marketed as replacement anticoagulants for warfarin (Coumadin), which has been the dominant anticoagulant on the market for decades.

Xarelto Bleeding Injury

While blood clots can be dangerous, in some instances this clotting can actually perform a life-saving function. In extreme internal bleeding situations, the body uses blood clotting to slow the bleeding, which can prevent a person from losing too much blood.

However, if unable to form these life-saving blood clots while on a blood thinner, the body has no other way of slowing the bleeding, which increases the risk of permanent Xarelto bleeding injury or even death.

Filing a Lawsuit Over Xarelto Bleeding Injury

A growing number of lawsuits are being filed over Xarelto side effects. According to these lawsuits, Janssen knew that there were potential dangerous side effects of Xarelto, including Xarelto bleeding problems, but failed to adequately warn both consumers and the medical community about these risks, placing patients at serious risk of injury or even death.

Filing a Xarelto lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering of someone who has experienced a Xarelto bleeding injury, and cannot bring a loved one back to life. However, a Xarelto lawsuit can at least help to compensate for the financial expenses often incurred by medical bills and lost wages.

If you or someone you love has experienced a severe Xarelto bleeding injury, or even death caused by Xarelto, you may be able to file a Xarelto lawsuit.

The Xarelto Bleeding Injury Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-07387-EEF-MBN, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.