A lawsuit has been filed against Xarelto drug manufacturers alleging that a woman suffered gastrointestinal bleeding from Xarelto use.

Plaintiff Peggy D. recently filed a lawsuit against Janssen, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, and more. In her Xarelto bleeding lawsuit, Peggy alleges that she suffered severe gastrointestinal bleeding from Xarelto.

Peggy began using Xarelto in July 2013 for treatment of atrial fibrillation. Peggy alleges she experienced bleeding during her use of Xarelto and, in March 2015, was hospitalized for severe gastrointestinal bleeding and anemia. In the hospital, she was transfused with packed red blood cells and monitored.

Peggy argues that she suffered gastrointestinal bleeding from Xarelto use and that her pain and suffering were a direct result of taking the drug. She also states that she would not have taken Xarelto if she had been sufficiently warned of a severe bleeding risk associated with its use.

What is Xarelto?

Xarelto is an anticoagulant medication commonly prescribed to reduce the threat of stroke and clotting in at-risk patients. Xarelto works by inhibiting a protein involved in coagulation. This inhibition interrupts the blood clotting process and prevents further coagulation proteins from forming.

Xarelto is marketed as an anticoagulant with no dietary restrictions or regular blood monitoring needs. Manufacturers allegedly marketed Xarelto as safer and easier than warfarin in order to entice physicians and patients to use it. The lawsuit claims that this marketing is false and misleading, and that “Xarelto [is] more likely to cause serious bleeding that may be irreversible, permanently disabling, and life-threatening than other anticoagulants.”

Despite being marketed as an easier, safer alternative to warfarin, Xarelto lacks an antidote for emergency bleeding–unlike warfarin, which can be reversed in emergency situations with a dose of vitamin K. In Peggy’s case, when she suffered gastrointestinal bleeding from Xarelto, there was no reversal agent available at the hospital; she instead had to be treated for blood loss with transfusions.

Insufficient Warning of Xarelto Dangers

The Xarelto website allegedly states that a clinical trial showed that patients were more likely to experience gastrointestinal bleeding from Xarelto than patients taking warfarin; however, despite this information allegedly shown in a clinical trial, Xarelto does not contain a related boxed warning.

Peggy believes that the manufacturers had to know that their product could result in severe bleeding complications, such as gastrointestinal bleeding from Xarelto, and did not include appropriate warnings on the warning label despite the evidence and reported commonality of severe bleeding as a side effect. Peggy argues that the defendants “concealed their knowledge that Xarelto can cause life threatening, irreversible bleeding from [herself], other consumers, the medical community and the general public.”

Peggy accuses the defendants of strict liability, manufacturing defect, design defect, failure to warn, negligence, breach of warranties, fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, negligent misrepresentation, and violation of consumer protection laws. The lawsuit seeks a trial by jury, damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

The Xarelto Bleeding Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-02608-EEF-MBN in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana.