A daughter has filed a lawsuit on behalf of her deceased mother claiming that she died from Xarelto life-threatening bleeding as a result of ingesting the drug.

Plaintiff Tammy W. has filed this Xarelto life-threatening bleeding lawsuit on behalf of her mother, Marvel W.

Marvel began taking Xarelto, a popular blood thinning medication made by Janssen Pharmaceuticals in May 2015. She continued taking Xarelto through the time of her death on Aug. 8, 2015.

Her daughter claims that during the last months of Marvel’s life while on Xarelto, Marvel suffered from several life-threatening bleeding events. On July 24, 2015, Marvel experienced hemoptysis which is the coughing up of blood.

On July 27, 2015, Marvel suffered anemia, an alveolar hemorrhage and a subarachnoid bleed. Anemia is a blood condition in which the blood does not have enough healthy red blood cells resulting in the blood not being able to circulate enough oxygen.

An alveolar hemorrhage is when the blood in the lungs funnels directly into the alveolar spaces. It is both dangerous and potentially fatal. A subarachnoid bleed is bleeding between the brain and the tissue that surrounds the brain, usually as a result of a burst blood vessel in the brain.

On Aug. 8, 2015, Marvel died. Her daughter believes it was as a direct result of Xarelto life-threatening bleeding.

Her mother, according to this Xarelto life-threatening bleeding lawsuit, suffered “physical pain and suffering, medical, hospital and surgical expenses, loss of consortium, and/or death and funeral expenses as a direct result of her use of Xarelto.”

Tammy, on behalf of her mother, is bringing forth counts of strict liability, manufacturing defect, design defect, failure to warn, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, violation of consumer protection laws, loss of consortium and wrongful death.

Xarelto Life-Threatening Bleeding Complications

Xarelto has been available for use in the United States since July 1, 2011 for the treatment of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in vulnerable patients. It is a NOAC, or New Oral Anticoagulant and joins drugs like Pradaxa and Eliquis in its class.

Xarelto, along with other NOACs, were marketed to replace the industry standard blood thinner, warfarin. Warfarin use requires the patient to be monitored regularly and adhere to a strict diet, as Xarelto does not.

As with any blood thinning medications, the risk of an uncontrollable bleeding event exists. The body needs to clot the blood sometimes, and drugs like Xarelto prohibit that in the case of a hemorrhage.

In the case of emergency excessive bleeding, warfarin users had an antidote: vitamin K. However, with the use of NOAC’s, bleeding antidotes have not been available. A Pradaxa antidote, Praxbind, was approved in the fall of 2016. However, Xarelto’s proposed antidote, AndexXa, has not yet been approved by the FDA.

Some plaintiffs, as well as the plaintiff in this Xarelto life-threatening bleeding lawsuit believe this is too late.

This Xarelto Life-Threatening Bleeding Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-06252-EEF-MBN, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.