A Georgia man filed a Xarelto lawsuit against Bayer and Jansen Pharmaceuticals, after suffering severe internal bleeding injuries.

Plaintiff Ronnie H. claims in his Xarelto bleeding lawsuit that as a direct result of using the blood thinner Xarelto, he developed life-threatening bleeding injuries that required hospitalization.

Xarelto is prescribed as a preventative treatment for those with non-valvular atrial fibrillation “to reduct the risk of stroke and systemic embolism.”

On April 19, 2013, Ronnie began taking Xarelto in accordance with the drug’s label and had followed the advice of his physician. Despite this, he had suffered an internal bleeding event several days later on April 22, 2013 and had promptly ceased taking Xarelto.

Diagnostic testing revealed that the cause of the internal bleeding was related to Xarelto. Hospital records indicate that Ronnie’s spleen had ruptured, and had required an emergency splenectomy, and he needed several weeks of hospital recovery time.

After recovering from the Xarelto bleeding episode, Ronnie had learned of Xarelto’s tendency to cause uncontrollable bleeding injuries in patients.

Xarelto currently has no reversal agent, which would have stopped his severe hematoma. However, Ronnie and his physician had not been aware of this at the time he was prescribed Xarelto, and were not informed of it after his bleeding event.

Ronnie had discovered the risk of Xarelto bleeding through FDA warnings and advertisements. Therefore, Ronnie is filed this Xarelto lawsuit against Bayer and Jansen for failing to protect him against the adverse effects of their product and for failing to warn him of the possibility of Xarelto bleeding.

At no point before or after Ronnie was prescribed Xarelto, did the defendants notify him or his physician of the complication or about any relevant studies.

The Xarelto bleeding lawsuit states that the pharmaceutical companies had the civil responsibility of warning him and other Xarelto patients of any risks related to their product. Ronnie insists that he never would have taken Xarelto if he had known about the risk of uncontrollable internal bleeding.

So for being allegedly responsible for manufacturing, selling, distributing, and marketing a dangerous drug, Ronnie is suing Jansen Pharmaceuticals and Bayer Pharmaceuticals. The charges include: negligence, false advertising, concealing information, and misrepresenting a product.

This Xarelto Lawsuit is Case No. 2;15-cv-01132-EEF-MBM. It was added to the Xarelto MDL: In Re: Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2592, both in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Louisiana.

Overview of Xarelto Bleeding Complications

Xarelto was approved for sale in the United States in 2011, to be a treatment option for patients who suffer from atrial fibrillation and are at high risk for stroke. It was released as a joint effort between Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary, Jansen Pharmaceuticals, in order to breakthrough the exclusive anticoagulant market.

As of now, there are only four anticoagulants available in the United States which includes the original blood-thinner Warfarin, and fellow new-generation anticoagulants: Pradaxa and Eliquis. Pradaxa had been approved a year prior in 2010, with Eliquis only approved recently in 2012.

While each of the anticoagulants come with similar treatment mechanisms, the new generation anticoagulants reportedly work much faster than Warfarin, but lack apparent safety features. Patients who are prescribed Warfarin, are required to undergo frequent medical checkups and dose adjustments.

Additionally, Warfarin comes with a reversal agent in the case of internal bleeding, which ultimately prevents avoidable deaths and emergency hospital visits. In contrast, all of the new-generation anticoagulants are prescribed on a constant dosing schedule, but no reversal agents are available in the case of internal bleeding.

In 2012, Xarelto had garnered $658 million in sales, and had breached $1 billion in 2013. This had earned Xarelto blockbuster status in the pharmaceutical market.

Despite its initial success, the complication of Xarelto bleeding has led to thousands of lawsuits, with each of the plaintiffs claiming that the manufacturing companies had prioritized Xarelto’s market value, over their safety.