Family members of a West Virginia woman have filed a Pradaxa wrongful death lawsuit against Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., alleging the woman suffered painful and deadly injuries after using the popular anticoagulant medication.

Plaintiffs Claude R. and Claudia S., on behalf of Betty K., filed the Pradaxa lawsuit alleging that “as a direct and proximate result of ingesting Pradaxa, [Betty] suffered severe personal injuries, including gastrointestinal bleeding, acute post-hemorrhagic anemia, and death.”

Betty was first prescribed Pradaxa as blood thinner in October 2011 to treat her non-valvular atrial fibrillation. On May 20, 2013, Betty allegedly experienced uncontrollable bleeding, leading to a 20-day hospitalization. Betty never recovered from the Pradaxa bleeding event, and died in September 2013.

According to the Pradaxa lawsuit, Betty was unaware that Pradaxa users have a higher risk of developing life-threatening injuries than users of an older anticoagulant, Warfarin. Had Betty and her healthcare providers known of the Pradaxa risks, and if the drug’s manufacturer had provided adequate warnings that there is no agent to reverse the anticoagulation effects of Pradaxa, Betty would never have used Pradaxa, the plaintiffs assert.

Betty’s family members bring several allegations against Boehringer Ingelheim in this Pradaxa wrongful death lawsuit, including strict products liability, negligence, negligent misrepresentation/fraud, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, negligence per se, fraudulent concealment, punitive damages, and wrongful death.

The family members are seeking a variety of compensatory and punitive damages.

The Pradaxa Lawsuit is Case No. 3:15-cv-06424, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

It is part of the Pradaxa MDL known as In re: Pradaxa (Dabigatran Etexilate Products) Liability Litigation, MDL. No 2385, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

Pradaxa Internal Bleeding Complications

The FDA originally approved Pradaxa in 2010 as an anticoagulant treatment for individuals seeking an alternative to traditional blood thinners like Warfarin (coumadin). However, after just three months on the pharmaceutical market, the FDA received over 307 reports of severe Pradaxa side effects. These personal injury reports claimed patient injury, including internal bleeding, gastrointestinal bleeding, and other Pradaxa complications.

Pradaxa wrongful death lawsuits claim that within its first year on the market, the drug was responsible for over 260 Pradaxa deaths due to gastrointestinal bleeding, internal bleeding, hemorrhage, and stroke.

Many Pradaxa lawsuits allege that the high number of Pradaxa bleeding complications result from the fact that the anticoagulant drug has no known reversal agent. Until the body flushes out the Pradaxa through dialysis treatment, a patient must undergo multiple blood transfusions before the uncontrollable bleeding side effects abate.

In the wake of a December 2011 announcement from the FDA about Pradaxa bleeding incidences, many consumers have chosen to file Pradaxa lawsuits and Pradaxa class action lawsuits. These cases similarly allege that the manufacturers of Pradaxa mislead consumers concerning Pradaxa’s safety.