Filing a Pradaxa drug lawsuit for the drug’s bleeding side effects might help compensate patients or their survivors for pain and suffering as well as high medical bills.

After the anticoagulant medication was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2010 and, unfortunately, years went by before an antidote to its blood-thinning properties became commercially available.

Many patients from all over the country have filed a Pradaxa drug lawsuit against Boehringer-Ingelheim, the medication’s manufacturer.

Pradaxa—generically known as dabigatran—was created to directly compete with warfarin, an established anticoagulant drug used successfully for six decades. It is part of a class of medications known as direct thrombin inhibitors or novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs). Other drugs in this class are Eliquis (apixaban) and Xarelto (rivaroxaban).

Pradaxa, like the other drugs in this class, were advertised as different from warfarin in that it supposedly needed little to no patient change in diet or outside monitoring by a medical professional. A Pradaxa drug lawsuit typically alleges that the patient experienced out-of-control gastrointestinal or other internal bleeding while taking this drug.

According to the narrative of the class action Pradaxa drug lawsuit, just in the first three months after this drug’s commercial release, there were 307 reports to the FDA concerning problems with gastrointestinal bleeding, hemorrhaging, and stroke. After the completion of the first year on the market, 260 individuals purportedly passed away due to these side effects.

Warfarin and Vitamin K

Warfarin—which is available as a generic and also sold under the brand name Coumadin—thins the blood as all anticoagulants do. They are used to prevent blood clots in patients undergoing total hip or knee arthroscopies and in people inclined toward producing clots in their lower extremities.

This condition is known as Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). When a blood clot travels systemically, it can become lodged in the lungs and is then referred to as pulmonary embolism (PE)—a life-threatening event.

At times, however, anticoagulants can produce a situation where internal bleeding reins out-of-control. Unlike Pradaxa, it was always known with warfarin that the rapid administration of vitamin K would counteract this situation. Avoidance of foods with large amounts of vitamin K was also recommended while taking the medication to achieve maximum benefit from the blood-thinning properties.

Plaintiffs in a Pradaxa drug lawsuit typically allege that Boehringer Ingelheim knew of the dangers of their drug all along and willfully pushed it through the FDA approval process knowing they did not yet have an antidote for adverse bleeding events with sometimes horrific consequences.

Patients that were purportedly hurt or had loved ones die ostensibly because of bleeding side effects from Pradaxa may have cause to seek compensation. If you are one of these people, a consultation with a knowledgeable Pradaxa lawyer can apprise you of your legal rights and options.