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Arkansas Xarelto Injury Lawsuit: Latest Developments To Know

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An Arkansas Xarelto injury lawsuit filed by the family of a deceased woman blames an irreversible brain hemorrhage associated with the blood thinner for her death. The woman, a nursing home resident, fell and injured her head. She was given first aid and her doctor was called next morning, as her condition worsened. The resident died following a massive cerebral bleeding. She was treated with Xarelto, a blood thinner known to cause internal bleeding and without a known antidote.

The Arkansas Xarelto attorney fighting for the plaintiff claims that doctors could not prevent bleeding effects of the anticoagulant for the lack of any reliable reversal agent. Bayer and Johnson & Johnson are facing product liability claim for marketing a dangerous drug with irremediable side effects. The case is a warning for one in every six nursing home residents and millions other taking anticoagulants. Introduction of new-generation blood thinners, such as Pradaxa and Xarelto, without antidotes put them at the increased risk of uncontrolled gastrointestinal, brain, and stomach bleeding and strokes.

The following are important developments to know for anyone considering filing a Xarelto injury lawsuit in Arkansas.

Xarelto Not Safer, Warn Researchers

A recent report citing a French research paper concludes that Xarelto is not superior to warfarin. Published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, it says that the new anticoagulant holds similar “short-term risk of bleeding and arterial thromboembolic events in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients” as the old blood thinner warfarin. However, it is the lack of antidote that makes Xarelto bleeding side effects more fatal.

According to the Journal for the American Medical Association, Xarelto is too dangerous for kidney patients. It quoted combined guidelines of “the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons” to highlight how new anticoagulants are hazardous for end-stage chronic kidney patients.

Xarelto Lawsuits on the Rise

The second quarter report of Bayer published in July 2015 admits of defending against 1,200 Xarelto bleeding lawsuits. The drug maker faces at least six class actions in Canada. This count excludes about many claims filed against Bayer and Johnson & Johnson in the last one month. Eastern Louisiana federal Judge Eldon Fallon is designated for consolidation of all Xarelto injury lawsuits under the federal MDL provision.

On August 3, four litigations representing 198 claimants joined the MDL claiming wrongful death and injuries attributed to bleeding side effects of the drug.

Statistics Against Xarelto

A study has revealed that 73 percent of persons suffered from side effects during the testing of Xarelto. Reports indicate that “the Einstein studies, the Record studies, and the Rocket AF study” highlighted uncontrolled bleeding risk during the trail phase. But the information was not disclosed to the public and the anticoagulant was promoted as safe.

At least 400 deaths and 3,500 hospitalizations involving Xarelto have been reported since it was approved in 2011. With a surge in prescriptions, the reports of adverse events are on the rise. The drug was responsible for 72 deaths and 896 hemorrhage reports in Germany in 2013. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices included it among the 10 most-frequent side effect reported drugs in 2014.

According to a Milwaukee Journal investigative report, Pradaxa, Xarelto, and Eliquis – three new-generation blood thinners – accounted for 8,000 deaths and 58,000 bleeding injuries in the last four years compared to 700 deaths and 8,000 injures linked to warfarin.

Three-fourths of all Xarelto bleeding reports cite intracerebral hemorrhage, claims the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The FDA has also warned of blood clots in patients who stop taking the drug abruptly.

Past History of Drug Makers Questionable

The past history of Xarelto makers Bayer and Janssen, a Johnson & Johnson unit, indicates how their defective drugs and suppression of information caused injuries to thousands of users. Janssen settled hundreds of Risperdal lawsuits for $2 billion after plaintiffs accused it of putting profits before people. Bayer is facing over 4,000 Mirena contraceptive injury lawsuits for suppressing safety information. It had settled 9,900 Yasmin and Yaz lawsuits while another 4,000 are awaiting trial. These incidents indicate how both companies give primacy to commercial profit over user safety and suppress data about drug side effects.

Trial Date Set for Aug 2016

The first Xarelto injury lawsuit seeking product liability was filed in January 2014. Within 18 months, over 1,400 claims have been made and a mass tort has also been established. The first bellwether is set for August 1, 2016. It will be followed three more trials on August 22, September 12, and October 17. While the first two will be presided by MDL Judge Eldon Fallon of Eastern district of Louisiana, the other two are slated to be held in Texas and Mississippi federal courts.

If you have a potential Xarelto injury lawsuit in Arkansas (or elsewhere) related to the blood thinner side effects and arising out of “negligence, concealing of information, misrepresentation, and false advertisement by the manufacturer”, please contact us or call on 1-800-632-1404 for a free consultation with our Xarelto attorney.

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Xarelto Injury Lawsuits Mount, Study Rejects Anticoagulant Benefits

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A Xarelto injury lawsuit filed by a Tennessee family a few weeks ago has sought financial damages from the makers of the blood thinner citing the wrongful death of a patient. The litigation alleges that Bayer and Johnson & Johnson merely “indicated that there was a risk for bleeding and continue selling the drug side-stepping the important issue of reversing the effects of Xarelto should a bleed occur.” The claim is among nearly 1,300 such drug injury lawsuits filed against Bayer in Canada and the United States.

The deceased was prescribed the anticoagulant to treat the risk of heart stroke from non-valvular atrial fibrillation. He died within six months following internal bleeding. According to the Tennessee Xarelto attorney representing the plaintiff, manufacturers have failed to address the issue of irreversible hemorrhaging associated the drug and their claim of superiority of the drug over other anticoagulants is misleading.

Xarelto makers promoted the drug as superior to the long-used blood thinner warfarin. While bleeding caused by warfarin is stopped with vitamin K shots, there is no cure for Xarelto bleeding side effects turn serious and fatal to cause hemorrhage and death. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices claims the blood thinner is the most frequent cause of pulmonary embolism in users. It also found that 44 percent Xarelto complaints reported involve users with hip and knee replacement surgery.

198 Plaintiffs Join Xarelto Litigation

On August 3, four lawsuits representing over 198 Xarelto bleeding side effects were added to the MDL centralized at an Eastern Louisiana federal court. These claimants are unanimous that the anticoagulant led to fatal or near-fatal injuries and deaths. Many of these claims include wrongful death following irreversible bleeding.

The four bundled claims, as presented by Xarelto lawyers, highlight internal bleeding-related side effects, such as

  • gastrointestinal bleeding
  • bleeding symptoms visible in urine
  • brain hemorrhaging
  • subdural hematoma
  • pulmonary embolism
  • bleeding in intestine and kidney
  • irreversible bleeding
  • hemoglobin level drop

Study Flays Xarelto Benefit Claims

A study recently reported by Circulation journal of the American Heart Association rejects safety claims by Xarelto manufacturers when compared to warfarin. Researchers discovered that the new-generation blood thinner has no advantage over warfarin as far as “short-term risk of bleeding and arterial thromboembolic events in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients” is concerned.

Based on the French monitoring over 32,000 patients treated with Xarelto, Pradaxa, and warfarin over a period, the study mentions “no significant difference in the rate of bleeding events or arterial thromboembolic events.” It warns that though there is no higher bleeding risk from Xarelto, the absence of a reliable antidote makes bleeding events irreversible and fatal. Doctors struggle to stop bleeding as they are unaware of any effective and approved reversal agent. Longer the internal bleeding, greater is the risk of patient’s death.

An April 2015 study reported by the British Medical Journal cited findings of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine team to highlight “two-time higher risk” of internal bleeding in patients being treated with Xarelto.

If you have a potential Xarelto injury lawsuit in Tennessee related to the blood thinner side effects and arising out of “negligence, concealing of information, misrepresentation, and false advertisement by the manufacturer”, please contact us or call on 1-800-632-1404 for a free consultation with our experienced Xarelto attorney.

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Xarelto Injury: New Study Claims Two-Fold Higher Bleeding Risk Than Warfarin

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Dismissing manufacturer’s safety claims, a new Xarelto injury study has warned of greater threat of gastrointestinal bleeding associated with the blood thinner compared to warfarin. Published on 24 April 2015 in the British Medical Journal, the study carried on by scholars from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine discovered that Xarelto bleeding injury risk is two-time higher than old blood thinner warfarin while Pradaxa, another infamous blood thinner that led to more than 4,000 lawsuits and $650 million carries 50% more risk .

In 2012, Reuters reported concerns expressed by many top cardiologists over potential Xarelto injury risks. This was attested by the MedWatch data revealing 151 deaths and over 2,000 hospitalizations associated with Xarelto bleeding side effects in 2012. In the first 150 days of 2013, 200 died and about 700 were treated for internal hemorrhage.

The Johns Hopkins Study Report

The study looked in to the case history of over 46,000 patients treated with Xarelto, Pradaxa, or warfarin. All patients used these drugs from October 2010 to March 2012. It was found that “rates of gastrointestinal bleeding seem to be similar in this commercially insured sample of adults though it cannot be ruled out that as much as a 50% increase in the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding with dabigatran (Pradaxa) compared with warfarin and a more than twofold higher risk of bleeding with rivaroxaban (Xarelto) compared with warfarin.

Though the researchers admit that statistical demonstration is not significant for the purpose of comparison of bleeding risk associated with these drugs, they concede that age is a factor and Xarelto and Pradaxa carry higher injury risk than warfarin.

Warfarin has been prescribed for decades prior to Xarelto and Pradaxa were introduced. Xarelto manufacturer Bayer advertised the drug as a new-generation blood thinner considerably reducing the frequency of blood monitoring. However, thousands of reports and more than 500 Xarelto lawsuits indicate a different story. There have been deaths and hospitalizations due to severe and uncontrolled bleeding associated with the blood thinner.

The absence of any reversal agent to counter Xarelto side effects makes bleeding uncontrollable. This makes the condition of the patients fatal in the absence of inadequate monitoring.

Xarelto Bleeding Research Studies

A Japanese study published in The Journal of Cardiology observed that “the drug caused a prolonged ‘thinning’ effect, making patients more likely to experience serious bleeding events within two weeks” during a trial compared to warfarin. Researchers also emphasized on the need for “monitoring of patients treated with Xarelto for potential bleeding effects and hemorrhage.” The manufacturer claims the superiority of Xarelto over warfarin on the ground that it does not necessitate monitoring for bleeding effects. Another February 2015 also criticized the claim and warned of fatal consequences unless patients are monitored for hemorrhage risk. Xarelto injury may also impact the kidney. According to Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the blood thinner may lead to brain, stomach, and intestine hemorrhages.

The American Heart Association acknowledged a report in 2013 that warned of three-fold rise in Xarelto bleeding injury. The risk goes up by four times for people suffering from Acute Coronary Syndrome. A recent study by researchers from California has cautioned against administering blood thinners to patients with reduced heart rhythm as this increases the bleeding risk.

If you have a potential Xarelto injury claim related to the blood thinner side effects, please contact us or call on 1-800-632-1404 for a free consultation with our Xarelto attorneys today.