Following a life threatening gastrointestinal bleed, a consumer has filed a Xarelto internal bleeding lawsuit against the drug’s manufacturers.

Plaintiff Bryant S. recently filed a Xarelto internal bleeding lawsuit against Janssen, Johnson & Johnson, and Bayer, alleging that the anticoagulant drug can cause uncontrolled internal bleeding.

Bryant says he ingested Xarelto from October 2015 to June 2016. In May 2016, Bryant allegedly suffered internal gastrointestinal bleeding.

For decades, the standard choice for blood thinners has been a drug called warfarin. Although the drug is effective, it requires extensive monitoring. This has led many drug manufacturers to develop alternatives such as Pradaxa, Eliquis, and Xarelto.

Xarelto is a blood thinning drug often prescribed to reduce the risk of stroke and clotting, to treat deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, and to prevent clotting in patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgery. Xarelto works by inhibiting a protein involved in the coagulation process. This mechanism interrupts the blood clotting process and prevents further clotting.

During the drug’s initial marketing, Xarelto was often touted at a safer and easier alternative to warfarin since it is a single daily dose that does not require monitoring or dietary restrictions. This was allegedly referred to as the “Xarelto Difference”.

However, the Xarelto internal bleeding lawsuit claims that “the ‘Xarelto Difference’ was nothing more than a marketing campaign based on flawed science”. The Xarelto internal bleeding lawsuit claims that once daily dosing and a lack of monitoring can increase the risk of major internal bleeding events.

“The use of Xarelto without appropriate blood monitoring, dose adjustment and twice a day dosing can cause major, life-threatening bleeding events,” the Xarelto internal bleeding lawsuit states. “Physicians using Xarelto have to be able to balance the dose so that the blood is thinned enough to reduce the risk of stroke, but not thinned so much as to increase the risk for a major bleeding event.”

Bryant claims that the Xarelto manufacturers knew or should have known of the risks associated with the drug and the need for monitoring, yet did not warn consumers or physicians. The Xarelto internal bleeding lawsuit claims that the manufacturers concealed the dangers of the drug in order to maintain Xarelto’s profitability. Since Bryant and his doctors did not know about all of the risks associated with Xarelto, they could not make an informed decision, the lawsuit claims.

“Defendants failed to disclose a known defect and affirmatively misrepresented that Xarelto was safe for its intended use,” the Xarelto internal bleeding lawsuit states. “Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s physicians reasonably relied on Defendants to disseminate truthful and accurate safety and efficacy information about its drug and warn of the side effects complained herein.”

Bryant accuses the Xarelto manufacturers of strict liability, manufacturing defect, design defect, failure to warn, negligence, breach of warranties, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, and violation of consumer protection laws. The Xarelto internal bleeding lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, economic damages, punitive damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

The Xarelto Internal Bleeding Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-05268-EEF-MBN in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.