The popular blood thinner Pradaxa is used to treat blood clotting, but it appears to come with serious Pradaxa bleeding problems that put patients at risk.

Many of Pradaxa users have filed products liability lawsuits against its manufacturer, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, alleging that the company failed to warn about the danger and threat of these Pradaxa bleeding problems. The pharmaceutical giant has already been hit with thousands of these Pradaxa lawsuits.

These plaintiffs allege that the blood thinner’s manufacturer failed to adequately warn the public, as well as the medical community as a whole, about the potential dangerous or life-threatening Pradaxa internal bleeding problems known to be linked with their drug. Pradaxa lawsuits allege that Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals either knew or should have known about Pradaxa’s dangers, and had a responsibility to warn consumers to prevent potential injuries.

Pradaxa Basics

Pradaxa (also known by its generic name, dabigatran) is a widely used anticoagulant that was manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals and first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2010.  Pradaxa is one of the recent blood thinners introduced to the market as a replacement for the old staple anticoagulant, warfarin (Coumadin).

After less than two years on the market, sales of Pradaxa had already skyrocketed, as 3.7 million U.S. patients had chosen to use Pradaxa. But Pradaxa bleeding problems may threaten millions of people, considering both the popularity and the widespread usage of the drug.

Pradaxa Bleeding Problems

Any anticoagulant (blood-thinner) can cause excessive bruising and bleeding. This can create problems when internal bleeding from an accident or disease gets out of hand. In these cases, the body usually combats bleeding by forming a clot to stem the bleeding.  If a patient is taking Pradaxa or a similar blood thinner, these life-saving blood clots cannot effectively form. Medical help is needed.

Excessive bleeding is a normal response to anticoagulants, and in most cases does not cause problems. If a warfarin user suffered emergency bleeding and needed to form blood clots, doctors could use vitamin K, a warfarin antidote, to reverse the drug’s effects and allow blood clots to form. However, Pradaxa had no such antidote until recently.

Some Pradaxa users have suffered from these acute side effects. The most severe of these side effects can include heart attacks, liver failure, uncontrollable bleeding, and even death. The most common of these complications is excessive bleeding, which in turn if not stopped can lead to brain hemorrhaging or death. Over 500 of the 3,781 reported Pradaxa bleeding problems in 2011 were ultimately fatal.

An additional risk comes with Pradaxa that is not true of generic warfarin: Pradaxa does not require frequent blood monitoring. While this may seem like a benefit to many users, critics say Pradaxa bleeding problems indicate that frequent blood monitoring may be necessary to prevent these side effects from developing. The fact that Pradaxa does not officially require monitoring reportedly puts its users at even greater risk.

Filing a Pradaxa Bleeding Problems Lawsuit

If you or someone you know has taken Pradaxa and has subsequently experienced any of the above symptoms, such as excessive bleeding or brain hemorrhaging, due to use of the drug, you may have cause for filing a Pradaxa lawsuit. Filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by Pradaxa bleeding problems, but it can help to alleviate the financial burden incurred by medical expenses and lost wages.