Any medication comes with side effects, but some drug side effects can be much more serious than others, offering more risk than benefit. In some cases, medication side effects can be dangerous or even life-threatening.

Pradaxa, a popular blood thinner, may be one of these excessively dangerous drugs. Pradaxa has been linked with major internal bleeding problems, which can lead to permanent complications or even death.

The widely distributed blood thinning medication has been connected in studies and complaints with severe internal bleeding complications.

Internal bleeding side effects are common with blood thinning medications. However, the risk of severe internal bleeding with Pradaxa may be more dangerous than it is with other blood thinners.

Pradaxa Background

Pradaxa (generic name dabigatran) was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2010. Pradaxa was added to the market as a new and improved replacement for the traditional blood thinning drug warfarin.

One of warfarin’s drawbacks that Pradaxa sought to improve was the need for blood monitoring checkups. With Pradaxa, these kinds of blood monitoring checkups are not required. Although this relatively new drug is more expensive than warfarin, it has only increased in popularity since its introduction to the market in 2010.

Pradaxa has become so widely used that millions of people have switched after only being available for a few years. This presents a concerning problem: if Pradaxa is indeed associated with more serious or even life-threatening internal bleeding problems, than a large number of Americans may be affected.

Pradaxa Gastrointestinal Bleeding Problems

While medications like Pradaxa often come with a list of minor side effects, others can be more severe or even dangerous.

One of the most dangerous side effects associated with Pradaxa is internal bleeding. This is a problem linked with any anticoagulant or blood thinner, as these drugs work to prevent blood clotting.

While blood clotting is normally a bad thing for the body and can lead to dangerous problems, which is why people use anticoagulants used in the first place, there are rare situations in which the body uses blood clots to protect itself.

Blood clotting can be a life-saving thing in the event of an emergency like a car crash or an emergency surgery. To prevent the body from losing too much blood, it forms blood clots, helping to slow the blood flow and increase a patient’s risk of survival.

Unfortunately, anticoagulant users may be at an increased of severe of fatal bleeding because their bodies are unable to form life-saving blood clots.

Pradaxa users may be at an even greater risk than those who use warfarin, because while warfarin comes with an antidote to reverse its blood thinning side effects, Pradaxa has no such antidote.

This means that Pradaxa users may be more likely to die or becomes severely injured from internal bleeding complications.

Pradaxa Lawsuits

Lawsuits against Pradaxa’s manufacturer, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, claim that the company either knew or should have known about the possibility of these serious side effects, but failed to adequately warn the public and the medical community about them.

Already, thousands of Pradaxa users have filed lawsuits against Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmacetuicals.

While filing a Pradaxa lawsuit cannot negate the pain and suffering caused by these severe complications, it can help compensate for financial expenses from medical bills and lost wages incurred by Pradaxa side effects.

If you or someone you love has taken Pradaxa and subsequently experienced internal bleeding or other major complications, you may be able to file a Pradaxa lawsuit.