Johnson & Johnson and Bayer HealthCare are facing a growing multidistrict litigation (MDL), consisting of product liability claims alleging Xarelto bleeding injuries. One of the most recent claims comes from a grieving widow from West Virginia, who alleges her husband died from Xarelto bleeding injuries.

Plaintiff Patricia E. is filing a lawsuit on behalf of the estate of Leonard E., who allegedly had suffered Xarelto internal bleeding injuries soon after starting his prescription. Like millions of other Xarelto patients, Leonard was prescribed the new generation anticoagulant to help prevent blood clot formation.

Xarelto is typically prescribed to patients who are suffering from atrial fibrillation, and are at high risk for stroke. Xarelto and other anticoagulants work by inhibiting the body’s clotting mechanism, which increases the efficiency of blood flow and eliminates the risk of blood clots.

However, this treatment mechanism also inhibits the body’s ability to recover from internal bleeding injuries, which can be fatal if the not treated immediately. This may have been the case for Leonard, who allegedly died from his Xarelto bleeding injuries on Nov. 4, 2014.

According to the Xarelto lawsuit, Leonard had been prescribed the anticoagulant in February 2013 for typical treatment purposes. However, soon after starting his prescription, he had to be hospitalized for a nosebleed, gastrointestinal bleeding, and blood in urine.

Even with emergency intervention, Leonard ultimately died from these Xarelto bleeding injuries. Patricia filed legal action against Bayer and Johnson & Johnson soon after her husband’s death after discovering other patients allegedly died or were seriously injured from Xarelto bleeding injuries.

Overview of Xarelto Bleeding Injuries

Xarelto was approved by the FDA in 2011, which was one year after its predecessor Pradaxa. The release of Pradaxa was significant in the medical community, because it was the first medication to be released for anticoagulant treatment purposes since warfarin in the 1960s.

Just two years later, Xarelto and Eliquis were released to compete in the lucrative anticoagulant market. Upon its release, Xarelto quickly outpaced Pradaxa in popularity after Johnson & Johnson and Bayer spent millions on marketing efforts.

However, these advertisements allegedly failed to mention that Xarelto carried the same risk of uncontrollable internal bleeding as Pradaxa. In contrast to warfarin, Xarelto and other new generation anticoagulants did not have an approved reversal agent that could be implemented to treat internal bleeding events.

While Pradaxa did eventually get its own bleeding antidote in the form of Praxbind in 2015, it was not until 2018 that Xarelto and Eliquis patients could receive an antidote called Andexxa. Even though these Xarelto bleeding injuries could be potentially fatal for patients, Bayer and Johnson & Johnson allegedly failed to warn the general public.

Patricia states that her husband would not have agreed to take the medication, if he had known the risks of Xarelto bleeding injuries. Patricia’s Xarelto lawsuit is joining MDL No. 2592, where it will stand alongside other claims alleging serious Xarelto bleeding injuries.

By joining and MDL, Patricia’s claim will be streamlined through the litigation process and will avoid problems like conflicting rulings from different judges.

This Xarelto Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-06051-EEF-MBN, in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Louisiana.