Janssen Research & Development LLC, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, faces a woman’s recent Xarelto gastrointestinal bleed lawsuit, joining a growing multidistrict litigation (MDL) against the company.

Plaintiff Carolyn S. files the Xarelto gastrointestinal bleed lawsuit in Louisiana federal court demanding jury trial. The lawsuit was filed on June 29, 2018.

According to the Xarelto gastrointestinal bleed lawsuit, Carolyn, a resident of the state of Virginia, says that she ingested Xarelto from approximately March 15, 2016 to July 13, 2016. However, she suffered a gastrointestinal bleed on July 14, 2016, which the lawsuit states was a direct result of taking Xarelto.

According to her Xarelto gastrointestinal bleed lawsuit,“[a]s a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ negligence, Plaintiff suffered serious physical injury, harm … damages and economic loss and will continue to suffer such harm, damages and economic loss in the future.” The damages suffered and incurred include mental anguish, physical pain, medical expenses, loss of enjoyment of life, and other economic and non-economic damages.

The Xarelto gastrointestinal bleed lawsuit is filed on multiple counts including strict liability, manufacturing defect, design defect, failure to warn, negligence, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, and violation of consumer protection laws/ consumer fraud laws.

Overview: Xarelto Gastrointestinal Bleed

Xarelto (rivaroxaban) is an anticoagulant or blood thinning medication that helps treat and prevent blood clots from forming. It reduces the risks of patients developing conditions such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT), stroke, and pulmonary embolism (PE).

Xarelto approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2011, has been linked to a number of serious adverse side effects and complications: Side effects include:

• Retinal hemorrhages
• Abdominal hemorrhages
• Intracranial hemorrhages
• Adrenal bleeding
• Excessive blood loss
• Epidural hematoma
• Stroke
• Wound infection and complication
• Death

Carolyn’s claim was filed as part of a larger multidistrict litigation (MDL) centered on allegations that Xarelto’s manufacturers knew of the inherent risks associated with their drug but of failing to disclose that information to patients and the medical community.

Thousands of patients have filed Xarelto gastrointestinal bleed lawsuits over the insufficient disclosure of possible side effects linked to Xarelto. Patients who have suffered from adverse side effects may be eligible to file a Xarelto lawsuit that may help them pay for damages suffered such as for lost wages, pain and suffering, medical bills, or other financial and non-financial losses.

While Xarelto’s reversal agent, Andexxa, was approved to help stop internal bleeding side effects earlier this year, lawsuits stem from Xarelto’s previous lack of a reversal agent. Other medications, like warfarin (Coumadin) always included a reversal agent that could help stop internal bleeding side effects if they were to ever occur. Thus, lawsuits contend that Xarelto’s previous lack constituted a design defect, faulting the manufacturers for not providing an agent that could help reverse those side effects.

The Xarelto Gastrointestinal Bleed Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-06344-EEF-MBN, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The Xarelto MDL is In re: Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2592, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.