In November 2014, the family of a Florida man who died in 2012 filed a wrongful death lawsuit against drug giants Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, alleging that Xarelto, their popular blood thinner, is dangerous and puts patients at significant risks of irreversible bleeding and death.

Scott L. has filed a Xarelto lawsuit against the drug’s manufacturer Janssen (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson) and their co-marketer Bayer on behalf of his deceased father, Donald L., alleging these companies failed to disclose the truth about the safety and efficacy of Xarelto to patients and physicians for over three years.

According to the Xarelto lawsuit, Donald allegedly began taking Xarelto around Oct. 18, 2012 upon the direction of his physician to treat his atrial fibrillation. Subsequently, allegedly as a direct result of ingesting Xarelto, Donald suffered an inoperable, severe intracranial hemorrhage in multiple locations leading to his eventual death on Oct. 26, 2012.

The Xarelto wrongful death lawsuit claims that both Bayer and Janssen Pharmaceuticals knew of the Xarelto side effects for at least three years. Rather than take the steps to pull the drug off the market, provide strong warnings, or create an antidote, Scott alleges Janssen and Bayer continued to promote Xarelto as a safe and effective treatment for atrial fibrillation.

The Xarelto lawsuit further accuses the drug companies of deliberately concealing knowledge that Xarelto can cause life-threatening, uncontrollable bleeding from consumers and medical community, and additionally failed to adequately warn about the lack of an antidote to reverse uncontrolled bleeding caused by Xarelto.

Xarelto Risks

Approved in 2011, Xarelto is one of the newest anticoagulants (blood thinners) manufactured and marketed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Bayer respectively. Xarelto has been widely prescribed to prevent blood clots in patients suffering from atrial fibrillation or AFib (an arrhythmia of the heart), deep vein thrombosis (blood clots deep within the body), pulmonary bleeding, stroke, and patients who have recently undergone a knee or hip replacement surgery.

Furthermore, Xarelto has been prescribed as an alternative to Warfarin (Coumadin), a more traditional blood thinner first widely used in 1954. However, over the past few years, the risks of using Xarelto became apparent to doctors and other health care professionals. The most serious potential Xarelto side effect is severe internal bleeding that can result in death. Even more alarming, according to news reports and Xarelto lawsuits, there is currently no known cure to reverse the type of internal bleeding caused by Janssen’s anticoagulant.

Other potential injuries allegeldy caused by Xarelto consumption include:

• thrombosis (blood clots)
• decreased hemoglobin (a substance that carries oxygen in red blood cells)
• cerebrovascular accidents (an event that leads to a cerebral hemorrhage)
• hematoma (a semisolid mass in the blood)
• peripheral edema (swelling of the lower limbs)
• dyspnea (difficulty breathing)

Xarelto still does not have a “black box” warning to inform patients or prescribing doctors that Xarelto can cause irreversible bleeds. In fact, a label change as recent as March 2014 still fails to contain this type of safety warning.

Xarelto Bleeding Lawsuits

Scott’s Xarelto lawsuit seeks equitable relief, monetary restitution, and compensatory and punitive damages from Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Bayer for the companies’ allegedly deceptive marketing practices, prioritizing profits before consumer safety, and directly causing the death of Donald by their allegedly negligent actions. The filed complaint indicates a demand for a jury trial for this case.

The Xarelto Lawsuit is Case No. 2:14-cv-00655-SPC-DNF, in the Circuit Court of the Ninth Judicial Circuit in and for Lee County, Florida.