Plaintiff Andre N. has filed a lawsuit in Louisiana federal court against the manufacturers of Xarelto, an anticoagulant medication.

According to the Xarelto side effects lawsuit, Andre names as defendants Janssen Research & Development and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development LLC.

The Xarelto side effects lawsuit states that Andre had ingested Xarelto from approximately May 2015 to October 2015. The Xarelto side effects lawsuit maintains that “he suffered severe adverse bleeding on or about October 8, 2015, as a direct result of Xarelto.”

The plaintiff is a resident of Henrico County, Va.

The Xarelto side effects lawsuit says that in addition to serious and dangerous severe bleeding, Andre suffered physical pain, mental anguish, a diminished enjoyment of life, and medical expenses.

Xarelto Side Effects Lawsuit Joins others in MDL

Andre’s claim is filed as part of a large multidistrict litigation, or MDL, centered on allegations that Xarelto causes patients to suffer from serious internal bleeding injuries.

Xarelto, a more recent anticoagulant medication, is also known as rivaroxaban. It is prescribed to patients to help treat and prevent the formation of blood clots. It lowers patients’ risks to the development of stroke, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and pulmonary embolism, or PE.

DVT is the occurrence or formation of a blood clot in the lower extremities. In addition, Xarelto prevents the occurrence of pulmonary embolism, the event in which a blood clot forms and blocks one or more arteries in the lungs.

Although the medication has been useful for treatment in some individuals, others like Andre have suffered severe adverse side effects and complications. Some instances of Xarelto complications have ended with the patient’s death.

Some adverse side effects and complications that have occurred in patients taking Xarelto include intracranial hemorrhages, abdominal hemorrhages, retinal hemorrhages, wound infection, epidural hematoma, adrenal bleeding, excessive blood clots, and stroke.

Xarelto Side Effects Lawsuit Facts

In order to be eligible for sale on the U.S. market, the manufacturers had to conduct a number of clinical trials to prove the drug’s efficacy and safety. However, according to statements made in the Xarelto side effects lawsuit, the results from these studies were not properly represented.

According to the Xarelto side effects lawsuit, one study known as the ROCKET AF study had discovered that Xarelto was not an inferior anticoagulant drug to warfarin, the drug’s competitor. However, the Xarelto side effects lawsuit states, “bleeding from gastrointestinal sites, including upper, lower, and rectal sites, occurred more frequently in the rivaroxaban group, as did bleeding that led to a drop in the hemoglobin level of bleeding that required transfusion.”

The Xarelto Side Effects Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-10110-EEF-MBN, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. It’s part of the Xarelto MDL, No. 2592, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.