Xarelto blood thinner litigation continues to grow as more patients file claims against this drug’s manufacturers.

Bayer and Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals are defendants facing thousands of Xarelto lawsuits. Commonly referred to as blood thinners, anticoagulants are prescribed to prevent blood clots and to prevent strokes. Unfortunately, blood thinners can also cause uncontrollable bleeding that can lead to death.

Xarelto belongs to a new class of blood thinners that include competitor Pradaxa. These new medications have been marketed as “one dose fits all” with no blood tests needed to maintain therapeutic levels.

Our blood has a protein called Factor Xa that starts the clotting process. Xarelto blocks Factor Xa, effectively halting the body’s production of a clotting enzyme known as thrombin. This action prevents blood clots from forming by preventing the clotting process from occurring.

Older anticoagulants such as warfarin (brand name Coumadin) have traditionally required blood monitoring. Warfarin also has an antidote that can reverse its anti-clotting effects in the event of a surgery or injury to the patient taking the medication. Emergency room doctors know how to provide vitamin K to stop warfarin’s anti-clotting effects.

Xarelto Blood Thinner Litigation Alleges Uncontrolled Bleeding

The FDA has issued two black box warnings on Xarelto. A black box warning is a step taken before a drug is pulled off the market. The main concern is if someone is bleeding out, there is no antidote for Xarelto that can slow that bleeding. As of now, there are no instructions for emergency room physicians to control bleeding caused by Xarelto’s anticoagulant properties.

Xarelto’s makers have spent millions of dollars marketing the drug to doctors and the public. In 2016, Xarelto made $2.2 billion for the drug companies.

Xarelto Side Effects in Wound Healing

Xarelto blood thinner litigation
has also targeted the drug’s interference with would healing.

In 2012, the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery reported that researchers looked at more than 13,000 patients who had knee or hip surgery who took either Xarelto or Heparin. The patients who had taken Xarelto had almost four times the risk of wound complications, including infections and leakage.

Orthopedic surgeons said patients who suffered Xarelto complications sometimes needed their implants removed. Others had to stay on antibiotics for weeks or months to get rid of persistent infections.

A British study also in 2012 determined that orthopedic patients who took Xarelto had such a high return-to-surgery rate within one month that doctors in the study stopped prescribing Xarelto when “large, fresh wounds” were presented. Instead, doctors prescribed an older anticoagulant called tinzaparin, they reported at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ annual meeting.

Compensation from Xarelto Blood Thinner Litigation

If you or someone you know has taken Xarelto and suffered bleeding or persistent problems with post-surgery healing, you could be eligible for compensation through Xarelto blood thinner litigation.