Bayer HealthCare and Johnson & Johnson are facing a new Xarelto stroke lawsuit brought by a Kentucky woman alleging the companies failed to warn her about serious side effects associated with the medication.

The woman is filing the Xarelto stroke lawsuit because she believes the companies either knew or should have known about their drug’s alleged link to uncontrollable internal bleeding.

Plaintiff Leona H. is the plaintiff in this Xarelto stroke lawsuit.  Leona alleges she suffered from a stroke, uncontrolled bleeding and other serious complications soon after starting the medication.

Xarelto is a new generation anticoagulant medication that is popularly used to treat atrial fibrillation and prevent stroke in high-risk patients. Leona was prescribed Xarelto for typical treatment purposes, and she says she took the medication according to prescription instructions and medical advice.

Even with this diligence, Leona still allegedly suffered a stroke and “life-threatening bleeding, as well as other severe and personal injuries which are permanent and lasting in nature.” This Xarelto stroke lawsuit and other injury reports have indicated this medication can potentially induce brain bleeding.

Overview of Xarelto Bleeding Complications

Xarelto and other anticoagulants work by inhibiting the body’s clotting mechanism to increase efficiency in the body’s circulation process. However, this also prevents the body from being able to perform self-recovery on minor internal bleeding injuries, which can quickly turn deadly if not promptly treated.

At this time, Xarelto does not have a readily available reversal agent for internal bleeding complications, often making emergency intervention necessary. Prior to Xarelto, warfarin had been the only anticoagulant on the market with a reversal agent, with patients receiving doses of vitamin K to stop the bleeding.

While Pradaxa, another new generation anticoagulant, did get a reversal agent in 2015, Bayer and Johnson & Johnson have not yet released a reversal agent for Xarelto. Pradaxa was released in 2010 and was the first medication to be approved for anticoagulant purposes since warfarin was released in the 1950s.

Just a year later in 2011, Johnson & Johnson and Bayer HealthCare collaborated on the release of Xarelto and have enjoyed financial success. Both Pradaxa and Xarelto became preferred choices over warfarin due to the convenient feature of single daily dosage. In contrast, warfarin patients had to regularly see their physicians for dose adjustments. While the new generation anticoagulants quickly overtook warfarin in popularity, it did not take long for patients to report incidents of uncontrollable internal bleeding.

Leona claims her health was permanently compromised due to the harmful nature of Xarelto, and that she would never have taken the medication if she had known about the potential complications.

According to the Xarelto lawsuit, the companies didn’t properly warn Leona or her physician of potential Xarelto bleeding complications, nor were the potential complications listed on the drug’s warning label. Leona is filing this Xarelto stroke lawsuit alleging the companies knew about Xarelto’s defective nature and concealed this information to boost sales.

Leona is filing this Xarelto stroke lawsuit seeking damages for the defendant’s negligence and failure to warn.  Leona is also asking for compensation for her extensive recovery treatment.

This Xarelto Stroke Lawsuit is Case No. 7:17-cv-00170-KKC, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Southern Division at Pikeville.