Ohio Man Sues Boehringer Ingelheim over Pradaxa Bleeding

An Ohio man has filed a lawsuit against the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim for injuries he allegedly sustained by taking the company’s blood-thinning medication Pradaxa.

Plaintiff Robert Martin alleges that as a direct result of using the medication he nearly died from internal bleeding in June 2012. Martin was first prescribed Pradaxa in February 2012 to prevent stroke. He was reportedly at a higher risk of stroke due to his blood pressure and health.

Martin stopped taking Pradaxa after the bleeding event, but filed the Pradaxa lawsuit after learning the manufacturing company knew of the risk of internal bleeding associated with the drug. Boehringer does not mention internal bleeding as a side effect on Pradaxa’s warning label, and also failed to mention that the drug has no reversal agent if Pradaxa bleeding were to occur.

The Pradaxa lawsuit alleges that Boehringer did not notify either doctors or consumers of the potential risks or alert them to relevant studies. In his Pradaxa lawsuit, Martin said he would not have taken Pradaxa if he had known that uncontrollable internal bleeding was a possibility. The Pradaxa bleeding lawsuit also asserts that Boehringer had the responsibility to warn him and other patients.

Martin’s Pradaxa lawsuit accuses Boehringer Ingelheim of negligence, false advertising, concealing information and misrepresenting a product.

Overview of Pradaxa Complications

Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate) is the second anticoagulant to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Similar to its predecessor Warfarin, Pradaxa was developed and manufactured to prevent stroke and systemic embolism in high risk patients. Pradaxa chemically thins the blood to prevent clotting, which is intended to prevent a stroke. It is manufactured and marketed by Boehringer Ingelheim, and is one of the most popular drugs in the United States.

While it is generally regarded as a highly effective, there have been concerns that have recently arisen regarding certain injury reports. Patients have reported that soon after using Pradaxa, they experienced dangerous internal bleeding. While there is no reversal agent for Pradaxa internal bleeding side effects, bleeding caused by Warfarin can be halted by using vitamin K. Boehringer has said it is trying to develop a Pradaxa reversal agent.

Boehringer initially boasted that Pradaxa was superior to Warfarin, even showing off the results of the drug’s preclinical trials. Now Boehringer is backtracking, and is trying to resolve many product injury lawsuits filed over problems with Pradaxa.

Pradaxa Lawsuits

The Pradaxa lawsuits against Boehringer Ingelheim have been consolidated into multidistrict litigation (MDL), a type of group lawsuit, similar to a Pradaxa class action lawsuit. In both a Pradaxa MDL and a Pradaxa class action lawsuit, a group of people allege that they have suffered similar harm at the hands of the same defendant. The main difference is that a Pradaxa class action lawsuit if filed on behalf of multiple plaintiffs, while the MDL is the centralization of dozens, sometimes hundreds, of individual personal injury lawsuits.

The Pradaxa MDL is In re: Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate) Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2385, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

Join a Free Pradaxa Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you or a loved one were medically diagnosed with internal bleeding problems after using Pradaxa, you may be able to take legal action against the drug’s manufacturer. Joining a Pradaxa class action lawsuit or filing an individual Pradaxa lawsuit may help you recover compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, and other damages. Obtain a free case evaluation now:

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