Pradaxa lawsuits continue to be filed in federal courts across the United States. Pradaxa is a popular new anticoagulant medication that enter the market back in 2010.

Legal claims against the drug manufacturer, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, allege that the blood thinning medication Pradaxa caused many patients to suffer uncontrollable internal bleeding, heart attack, stroke, brain hemorrhage, or even death.

Pradaxa is just one of a new generation of blood thinning medications that have recently entered the market. These new anticoagulant medications are advertised as superior alternatives to the more traditional and established blood thinner known as Coumadin, or Warfarin.

In order to use Coumadin safely patients must undergo frequent blood tests and follow a strict diet. The blood tests measure the coagulation status, or thinness of a person’s blood and based on the results of these tests changes in dosage are often required.

While on Coumadin, eating certain foods can change the consistency of a patient’s blood, causing the blood to become too thin which increases the risk of serious bleeding, or too thick increasing the risk of stroke or blood clots. Pradaxa and the newer blood thinners do not require such strict monitoring as the medication is administered in standard doses.

How Do Blood Thinning Medications Work?

Anticoagulant medications work by inhibiting various clotting factors in human blood. Coumadin works by inhibiting vitamin K, a vitamin necessary for the clotting process. Because of this, a common antidote for reversing the effects of Coumadin is to administer a dose of vitamin K sometimes mixed with fresh or frozen plasma.

The new blood thinning medications work by directly inhibiting certain clotting factors. Pradaxa inhibits thrombin, while other available anticoagulants inhibit a factor known as Xa.

Pradaxa Antidote Status

When Pradaxa and the other new generation blood thinners were first FDA approved and entered the consumer market they had no known antidote. This meant that when patients experienced uncontrolled bleeding as a result of the medication medical professionals had no known way to reverse the bleeding.

Recently the manufacturers of Pradaxa received FDA approval to market a new antidote for their blood thinning medication known as Praxbind. This will hopefully help lower the number of adverse events experienced by users of the blood thinning medication.

Pradaxa Lawsuits

Thousands of Pradaxa lawsuits have been filed across the United States. These lawsuits likely allege that the pharmaceutical manufacturer failed to warn the medical community and consumers about dangerous risks associated with using the medication.

Whether or not a person should file a Pradaxa lawsuit is a decision that should be made on a case by case basis with the advice of a legal professional. Plaintiffs filing lawsuits may have the option of filing their Pradaxa lawsuit individually or as a member in a class action lawsuit.

Individual lawsuits allow the plaintiff to assert more autonomy over their cases, while becoming a member in a class action lawsuit helps spread the cost of litigation among all the members.

Successful plaintiffs may receive compensation for both past and future medical bills as well as compensation for the pain and suffering they have been forced to endure due to their Pradaxa bleeding injuries.