The husband of a Wisconsin woman is filing a wrongful death lawsuit against Janssen citing blood thinning drug Xarelto defects as the reason for his wife’s death.

Plaintiff Alvin E. is filing a Xarelto defects lawsuit on behalf of himself and his deceased wife, Virgina E.

He believes that Janssen is responsible for “negligent and wrongful conduct in connection with the design, development, manufacture, testing, packaging, promoting, marketing, advertising, distribution, labeling, and/or sale of the pharmaceutical drug Xarelto.”

The plaintiff claims that not only is Janssen responsible, but their product is defective and dangerous to human health. He also alleges that Xarelto defects make it unsuitable to be marketed and sold to the public.

Alvin claims that Xarelto lacked proper warnings and directions regarding the dangers associated with it.

Allegedly, Janssen concealed their knowledge of Xarelto defects associated with their drug from the plaintiffs, from the FDA and from the general public by misrepresenting the fact that Xarelto was safe for use.

Alvin says that Janssen engages in aggressive marketing campaigns both to consumers and the medical community. Xarelto sales may reach over $1 billion this year.

What are the Xarelto Defects?

Xarelto, a blood thinning medication, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in July 2011 for the treatment and prevention of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. This is especially important in patients who have had lower extremity surgery like hip replacement.

However, less than one year later, over one thousand serious Xarelto injury reports were reported to the FDA. These reports were regarding uncontrollable bleeding from Xarelto and 65 of the 1,000 reports ended in a fatality.

Xarelto currently does not have an antidote for uncontrollable bleeding. Because of this, even minor bleeding can lead to massive problems such as hemorrhages or brain bleeds.

Those who are already in poor health or who are over 65 are more at risk to suffer serious bleeding problems than those who are not.

Finally, in 2014, the FDA added a black box warning about Xarelto defects. The FDA added a notice to the warnings and precautions section of the Xarelto box that said Xarelto has no antidote. It warns patients to watch for signs of excessive bleeding.

Signs of excessive or problem bleeding because of Xarelto defects include:

• Frequent nose bleeds
• Unusual bleeding in the gums
• Red or pink urine
• Severe uncontrolled bleeding
• Bright red or black stool that looks like tar
• Vaginal bleeding that is heavier than normal
• Wounds with swelling or new drainage
• Coughing up blood
• Headaches

In this Xarelto defects lawsuit, Alvin is bringing forth claims of negligence, strict products liability, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranties, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, negligent misrepresentation and wrongful death.

This Xarelto Defects Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-01507-EEF-MBN in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.