As the number of lawsuits over Xarelto side effects increases, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) is deciding whether or not the cases will be combined into one MDL.

Currently, dozens of Xarelto lawsuits have been filed against Bayer and Johnson & Johnson claiming that the defendants failed to adequately warn users about the potential for Xarelto side effects to cause uncontrollable internal bleeding.

Some injuries, as in the case of Xarelto lawsuit plaintiffs Harriet I. from Louisiana and Ann H. from Illinois, require hospitalization and blood transfusions in order to recover from the alleged Xarelto bleeding injuries.

Xarelto MDL/Lawsuits

Plaintiffs in Xarelto lawsuits claim that Bayer and J&J should have included stronger warnings about the bleeding risks of Xarelot. Plaintiffs also claim that the defendants provided misleading information about Xarelto risks.

The U.S. JPML met on December 4th and addressed a motion filed by several plaintiffs to centralize the various Xarelto lawsuits and complaints into one MDL. When the motion was filed on Oct. 15, 2014, there were at least 21 plaintiffs claiming Xarelto caused bleeding. This number covered 10 different U.S. District Courts. However, now at least 50 Xarelto lawsuits have been filed. It has been suggested that this number will continue to increase, especially if a Xarelto MDL is created. 

MDLs are often used to simplify the legal process when multiple similar lawsuits are filed against a defendant. In this case, the similar allegations raised in Xarelto lawsuits is that the drug has caused severe bleeding in some users and the manufacturers did not adequately warn against these risks.

Combining the Xarelto lawsuits may also help other people who view themselves as victims of Xarelto bleedings side effects to file a product liability lawsuit against the drug’s manufacturers. 

Xarelto Bleedings Dangers

Xarelto (rivaroxoaban) has been used since 2011 as an anticoagulant (a blood thinner). The drug is used to prevent stroke and blood clots in patients after surgery. It can also be used to lower these risks in atrial fibrillation patients.

The most popular blood thinning medication has been Coumadin (warfairn), which has an antidote should excessive bleeding occur. Not only has Xarelto had an increase of adverse events reported to the FDA, but there is no antidote for the drug when bleeding occurs. This increases the danger of alleged Xarelto side effects.

The defendants have marketed Xarelto as a drug that is easier to use and is better than warfarin because it does not require blood monitoring. Since risk for uncontrollable bleeding from Xarelto has been revealed, some studies have suggested that blood monitoring would be beneficial for lowing the risk of Xarelto bleeding. 

It is expected that hundreds of individuals will filed Xarelto lawsuits against Bayer and J&J, and that a Xarelto MDL will be formed. Xarelto wrongful death lawsuits have also been filed against the defendants. A Xarelto class action lawsuit investigation is currently underway.