Bayer, Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals are facing a wrongful death lawsuit, alleging that their blood thinner lead to a West Virginia man’s Xarelto ischemic stroke and subsequent death.

Plaintiff Allison M. on behalf of the estate of her late husband Arthur M., brings the lawsuit against the manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson and the co-marketer of Xarelto, and Bayer Healthcare AG.

Allison alleges these companies failed to warn patients and physicians of the increased risks and danger, including Xarelto ischemic stroke, when using the blood thinner medication.

According to the lawsuit, Arthur ingested Xarelto from approximately February 14, 2014 to February 23, 2015, and suffered from bleeding in the lungs.

He subsequently suffered an alleged Xarelto ischemic stroke, multiple cardiopulmonary arrests, respiratory failure and septic shock.  He died from his injuries on March 7, 2015.

The Xarelto lawsuit claims that Bayer and Janssen Pharmaceuticals knew of the Xarelto side effects and continued to sell it even though they knew the dangerous risks.

The Xarelto ischemic stroke lawsuit further accuses the defendants of purposely concealing important safety information from the medical community, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the public, and did not test the drug enough before it was put on the market.

Allison is seeking judgment against the drug companies for compensatory, economic, exemplary damages for the pain, suffering, emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life in an amount to be determined at trial.

Xarelto Ischemic Stroke Risk

According to the American Heart Association, an ischemic stroke occurs as a result of an obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain. It accounts for 87 percent of all stroke cases.

Xarelto (rivaroxaban) is a blood thinner, or anticoagulant, developed by Bayer Healthcare and the Janssen Pharmaceuticals subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. Xarelto was first approved by the FDA in 2011 to reduce the risk of blood clots in patients who recently underwent knee or hip replacement surgery.

Approval was expanded later that year as a prophylactic against stroke and dangerous blood clots in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Even before Xarelto was approved for patients with atrial fibrillation, the FDA had serious concerns about the possible increased risk of stroke associated with Xarelto.

Other Xarelto problems include uncontrollable bleeding that may become apparent due to symptoms such as coughing up or vomiting blood, headaches and red or black stool.

Filing a Xarelto Lawsuit

The majority of Xarelto lawsuits center on accusations that the drug maker should have mandated or at least recommended regular blood monitoring with Xarelto in order for doctors to adjust doses to avoid adverse bleeding or Xarelto ischemic stroke events.

All federally-filed Xarelto injury cases have been centralized in multidistrict litigation in Louisiana federal court. The Xarelto MDL consolidates similar claims in one court to allow both sides to share in discovery and help avoid the incidence of inconsistent pretrial rulings.

A series of four bellwether trials are scheduled to go trial in Spring 2017.

If you have suffered a Xarelto ischemic stroke or lost a loved one to Xarelto bleeding complications, you could be owed compensation for your medical expenses and other damages.

The Xarelto Ischemic Stroke Lawsuit is filed within In re: Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2592, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.