Since its FDA approval in 2010, Pradaxa has quickly become one of the most popular blood thinning drugs on the market. Unfortunately, patients have reported suffering from a number of serious side effects of Pradaxa, including major internal bleeding complications.

If you or a loved one have suffered from complications like internal bleeding after taking Pradaxa, you may be able to file a lawsuit.

Pradaxa Medication: The Basics

Pradaxa (also known by its generic name, dabigatran) is a blood thinner, or anticoagulant, manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals. Pradaxa was approved for this use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nearly a decade ago, in 2010, and has become known as a drug superior to the longtime staple anticoagulant, Coumadin (warfarin).

Anticoagulants like Pradaxa are used to treat or prevent blood clots and related conditions. Preventing blood clots protects patients from a number of dangerous health risks. However, some patients claim that the bleeding risks of Pradaxa outweigh the benefits.

Pradaxa was marketed as superior to Coumadin because it was supposed to require less frequent monitoring, allowing patients more freedom. But Coumadin had an important benefit that, for a time, Pradaxa lacked – an antidote.

Blood thinners are generally associated with internal bleeding side effects, but Coumadin had a reversal agent, vitamin K, that could be used in bleed situations to allow the blood to clot and stop internal bleeding. For years after Pradaxa’s FDA approval, there was no such reversal agent available to counteract Pradaxa internal bleeding problems. Praxbind, Boehringer Ingelheim’s antidote for Pradaxa bleeds, wasn’t released until 2018.

Side Effects of Pradaxa

After its first three months on the market, Pradaxa had already been associated with 307 reports of internal bleeding and other serious side effects. Within a year, more than 260 deaths had been reportedly caused by this problem.

In December 2011, the FDA warned users that Pradaxa had been associated with uncontrollable internal bleeding side effects. Serious bleeding side effects that have been associated with Pradaxa include:

• Kidney bleeding
• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Brain hemorrhage
• Death

It is important for Pradaxa users to be aware of symptoms of internal bleeding or hemorrhage, which include unexplained bruising, frequent nose bleeds, bleeding from the gums, discolored urine, red or black stools, and coughing or vomiting blood.

It is also good to be aware of these symptoms if taking a different blood thinner in the same family. Pradaxa, along with Eliquis and Xarelto, is part of a family of medications known as the New Oral Anticoagulants (NOACs).

Filing a Pradaxa Lawsuit

A growing number of Pradaxa patients are coming forward with allegations of major complications associated with the drug. Pradaxa lawsuits alleges that Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals knew about the internal bleeding risks of its popular anticoagulant, but failed to warn patients and the medical community.

If you or someone you love has suffered from these or other side effects of Pradaxa, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation. While filing a lawsuit cannot undo the pain and suffering caused by these complications, it can at least help to alleviate the financial burden incurred by medical expenses, lost wages, and more. Contacting an attorney familiar with Pradaxa litigation can help.