Consumers who experienced uncontrollable bleeding while taking the Pradaxa blood thinner may be eligible to file a lawsuit against Boehringer Ingelheim, the drug’s manufacturer.

Pradaxa (dabigatran) is a blood thinning drug often prescribed to prevent dangerous clotting in at-risk patients. The drug was developed by Boehringer Ingelheim and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2010.

The Pradaxa blood thinner was developed to compete directly with warfarin, which has been the industry standard blood thinner for 60 years. Because warfarin has been widely used for decades, both patients and doctors trust its reputation. This makes it difficult for newer blood thinners such as Pradaxa to compete.

Pradaxa blood thinner marketing techniques have highlighted the drug’s positives, including less frequent blood monitoring and fewer dietary changes than what is required on warfarin. Regular blood testing and dietary restrictions are some of the most significant patient complaints associated with warfarin, and Pradaxa blood thinner marketing aims to take advantage of those disappointments.

However, these Pradaxa blood thinner marketing techniques do not address a serious concern associated with the drug: uncontrollable bleeding. In Pradaxa’s first three months on the U.S. market, the FDA reportedly received 307 reports of uncontrollable bleeding. In the drug’s first year on the market, 260 related bleeding events had resulted in death.

Due to the frequency of bleeding events associated with the Pradaxa blood thinner, the FDA released an alert informing consumers and medical professionals of the risks. However, no recall has been issued by the manufacturer.

Consumers taking the Pradaxa blood thinner have experienced a variety of bleeding events and complications including internal bleeding, kidney bleeding, gastrointestinal bleeding, heart attack, stroke, brain hemorrhage, and death. The symptoms of a bleeding event and its complications will vary greatly depending on the severity and location of the bleed. Any possible symptoms of a bleeding event may be serious and should be treated as such.

In October 2015, the Pradaxa blood thinner made history when it became the first modern anticoagulant to have an approved antidote, Praxbind. Initial approval was accelerated by the FDA due to the historic potential of the drug and full approval was received for Praxbind recently in April 2018. It has been sparsely available since its initial approval and should now become more common in hospitals. Before Praxbind’s approval, the only treatment for uncontrolled bleeding on Pradaxa was dialysis and blood transfusions, which did not always work.

Praxbind stands to save the lives of countless consumers around the country but does not benefit those who have been injured or died as a result of Pradaxa blood thinner complications. Consumers who experienced life-changing bleeding events as a result of the Pradaxa blood thinner drug may be eligible to file a lawsuit against Boehringer Ingelheim.

Pradaxa blood thinner lawsuits often argue that the manufacturers did not properly warn consumers of the risks associated with their drug and failed to develop an antidote in a timely fashion. Other lawsuits argue that Boehringer knew about the risks but chose to cover them up with misleading safety materials. Pradaxa blood thinner lawsuits could help consumers recover compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, wrongful death, and more.