All federally filed Xarelto lawsuits were consolidated into one multidistrict litigation, or MDL, on Dec. 12, 2014 in the Eastern District of Louisiana, and potential cases for early bellwether trials have been reviewed since the MDL consolidation.

The judge overseeing the proceedings, Judge Eldon E. Fallon, confirmed on March 7 that 40 Xarelto lawsuits have been selected for the bellwether trial discovery pool. Others Xarelto lawsuits have been scheduled for case-specific depositions to be held over the next few months.

The Xarelto lawsuits from the discovery pool will help both parties to gather evidence that can be used during bellwether trials. Bellwether trials use just a few Xarelto lawsuits to gauge how juries respond to the evidence.

Because these Xarelto lawsuits have been consolidated and have generally been found to be similar, the results of bellwether trials are usually repeated throughout all of the litigation. Bellwether trials, therefore, help to more quickly and efficiently determine the results of litigation.

Sometimes, particularly strong bellwether trials can encourage parties to seek a settlement rather than to continue litigation.

The first bellwether trials are scheduled for early 2017.

Xarelto Background

Xarelto (rivaroxaban) was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July 2011. Xarelto is an anticoagulant medication intended to prevent blood clots in patients going through hip and knee replacements. Xarelto was marketed as being superior to warfarin, the traditional staple blood thinner, because it did not require frequent blood monitoring.

Though Xarelto was initially approved to prevent blood clots for hip and knee replacement patients, it was later approved to prevent stroke and deep vein thrombosis.

Despite Xarelto’s rising popularity, it is also the subject of hundreds of adverse events reports. These reports claim that Xarelto has led to internal bleeding. In some cases, these Xarelto side effects are reportedly so severe that they led to death.

According to the Institute of Safe Medicine Practices QuarterWatch publication, Xarelto had a total of 356 cases of serious Xarelto side effects just one year after its release into the market.

Xarelto Lawsuits

The FDA has taken action, warning Xarelto manufacturers that they have released false or misleading marketing that downplays Xarelto risks. Xarelto manufacturers Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Bayer AG are facing a number of Xarelto lawsuits that claim consumers and the medical community were not adequately warned of the potentially serious Xarelto side effects.

One of the major problems with Xarelto, lawsuits claim, is that unlike warfarin, Xarelto does not have an antidote available to reverse the potentially life-threatening internal bleeding effects. Therefore, patients who are suffering from internal bleeding may end up bleeding much more excessively than they would have had they not taken Xarelto.

If you or someone you know has experienced Xarelto side effects such as Xarelto bleeding, you may be able to join a class action Xarelto bleeding lawsuit.