A California woman has filed a new GI bleed lawsuit, alleging that the blood thinner Xarelto caused extreme gastrointestinal bleeding.

The plaintiff, Pamela L., says she was prescribed and began using Xarelto in January 2016, and continued this usage for several months, up through September 2016. However, on Feb. 13, 2016, Pamela says she suffered from gastrointestinal bleeding, and went to a medical center with burning pain in her abdomen, fever, and more symptoms indicating a GI bleed.

A few months later, she once again went to the medical center with severe symptoms, this time indicating a pulmonary embolism that required extensive care, the GI bleed lawsuit claims.

According to Pamela’s GI bleed lawsuit, her internal bleeding and pulmonary embolism complications were a direct result of her exposure to the medication Xarelto, which caused permanent injuries, pain, suffering, emotion distress, and ongoing medical expenses. However, Pamela says she was not aware of the connection between Xarelto and these risks, and had she been properly warned about these risks prior to taking the drug, she says she never would have chosen Xarelto in the first place, the GI bleed lawsuit claims.

Pamela filed her GI bleed lawsuit on May 21, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The lawsuit was filed on multiple counts, including failure to warn, design defect, negligence, breach of express and implied warranties, and fraud, among others.

Background of Xarelto

Xarelto (rivaroxaban) is manufactured by Janssen, a prominent subsidiary of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. Xarelto entered the U.S. market on July 1, 2011, and is one of a class of drugs known as New Oral Anticoagulants (“NOACs”). These drugs are approved to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism by preventing blood clotting.

Other NOACs include popular anticoagulants Pradaxa and Eliquis. Collectively, these are some of the most popular anticoagulants available on the market.

However, despite the popularity of Xarelto, a growing number of Xarelto lawsuits like this one are being filed over serious complications, like in the case of this plaintiff’s gastrointestinal bleed, allegedly caused by Xarelto. Lawsuits claim that Janssen knew about the Xarelto internal bleeding linked with the drug, and yet failed to adequately warn both consumers and the medical community about these Xarelto risks.

While Xarelto is used to prevent often dangerous blood clots, this can in some cases be a problem. While taking a blood thinner like Xarelto, patients may be left unable to form life-saving clots in bleeding emergencies, which can cause permanent injury or even death.

This is a risk of blood thinners in general, and some blood thinners have an available antidote that can reverse their anticoagulant effects in case of emergency. Xarelto had no such antidote until very recently, when Portola Pharmaceuticals developed the Andexxa reversal agent.

Filing a GI Bleed Lawsuit

If you or someone you love has suffered from complications like a gastrointestinal bleed caused by Xarelto, or even death caused by Xarelto, you may be able to file a GI bleed lawsuit.

While filing a GI bleed lawsuit cannot reverse the pain and suffering caused by Xarelto, it can help to compensate for the financial losses from medical expenses and lost wages.

The GI Bleed Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-05070-EEF-MBN, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.