Blood thinner Xarelto bleeding symptoms may be dangerous. Patients claim that the drug’s makers didn’t fully research the drug’s risks before releasing it into the market.

Xarelto is a prescription blood thinner, also known by its generic name, rivaroxaban. It is sold by Johnson & Johnson and Bayer. It is advertised as a convenient alternative to older blood thinners but may come with dangerous side effects. Patients claim that the drug’s manufacturers knew that the drug was associated with a higher risk of serious internal bleeds than other blood thinners, but misrepresented the product as safe and effective.

Plaintiff Scott S. claims that he was prescribed Xarelto on or around August 2015 in Illinois to treat and/or prevent blood clotting. Allegedly, he was diagnosed with gastrointestinal bleeding on Jan. 2, 2017, and was admitted to the hospital for treatment. He says sat he was released on Jan. 6, 2017.

According to Scott, after his gastrointestinal bleed, his doctors took him off of Xarelto. Scott’s Xarelto bleeding symptoms lawsuit alleges that through Scott was taking Xarelto as directed, his bleed was caused by his use of the drug. He claims that the drug is too dangerous for use by the general public and is dangerous even when used normally.

Scott argues that he was permanently and severely damaged by Xarelto, and “will continue to suffer harm and damages including severe pain and suffering, past and future medical expenses and other economic and noneconomic damages.” Scott states that he suffered physical, emotional, and financial injury as a result of his use of Xarelto, and he aims to hold Johnson & Johnson and Bayer responsible for this injury.

According to the Xarelto bleeding symptoms lawsuit, Xarelto’s FDA approval was based on bad data that inaccurately represented the dangers of the drug.

Scott states that Xarelto’s approval was based on studies called the RECORD studies, or the Regulation of Coagulation in Orthopedic Surgery to Prevent Deep Venous Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism studies, and the ROCKET studies, or the Rivaroxaban Once Daily Oral Direct Factor Xa Inhibition Compared with Vitamin K Antagonism for Prevention of Stroke and Embolism in Atrial Fibrillation study.

Allegedly, these studies showed that Xarelto bleeding symptoms are much more severe than those associated with other blood thinners. Scott claims that even though the RECORD and ROCKET studies did indicate that Xarelto was more likely to cause fatal bleeds than other blood thinners, the studies were designed to disguise the “true bleeding risk presented by Xarelto use,” and make it appear safer than it really is to gain FDA approval.

Additionally, the Xarelto bleeding symptoms lawsuit argues that the drug is not as convenient as advertised. The drug is allegedly advertised as being more convenient than other drugs because it can be taken once a day instead of twice a day, and requires less monitoring by a physician and less change in diet and exercise to be effective.

However, Scott states experts worry that this feature is more based in marketing than science and that the spikes and drops of the amount of medication in a patient’s system can during Xarelto use can cause more serious bleeds and bleeds that are harder to stop than those that occur in patients that use other blood thinners.

The Xarelto Bleeding Symptoms Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-14242-EEF-MBN, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.