Lawsuit Alleges Plavix Caused Oklahoma Man to Suffer Multiple Stomach Bleeds

Another lawsuit has been filed over adverse Plavix side effects. The lawsuit, filed by national law firm Parker Waichman LLP, alleges that the blood thinner, Plavix (clopidogrel), caused an Oklahoma man to suffer from multiple stomach bleeds.

According to Parker Waichman LLP, the man allegedly suffered from gastrointestinal hemorrhages and a cerebral hemorrhage while taking the blood thinner. The lawsuit names Bristol-Myers Squib Company, Sanofi-Aventis U.S., L.L.C., Sanofi US Services, Inc., and Sanofi-Synthelabo, Inc as defendants and was filed on June 29th in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York (Index No. 154117/2012).

According to the complaint, the Louisiana man took Plavix from March 2010 to November 2010, suffering from two gastrointestinal hemorrhages and one cerebral hemorrhage; the most recent of these injuries occurred in December 2010, when he suffered his second gastrointestinal bleed. The lawsuit also alleges that the man experienced several other adverse effects as a result of Plavix’s defects, including severe and permanent injuries; physical impairment and disfigurement; physical pain and suffering; mental pain and suffering; loss of enjoyment of life; and past, present, and future sums of money incurred from medical expenses linked to monitoring and treating his injuries.

Plavix, an anti-platelet medication approved in the United States in 1997, is prescribed to reduce risks of atherosclerotic events such as blood clot, stroke, and heart attack in patients with a history of these conditions. The complaint states that the defendants have received enormous profits from Plavix sales, with Plavix having generated about $42.8 billion in sales since its approval.

Money is a significant issue in this case with the complaint stating that it was Plavix’s financial success that motivated the defendants’ alleged negligent and fraudulent actions. The lawsuit claims that the defendants knew Plavix increased risks of serious bleeding events, yet continued to sell the drug to protect their financial interests. The suit also alleges that the defendants made false and unsubstantiated claims when marketing Plavix by touting its superiority to aspirin in lowering the rate of blood clots, stroke, and heart attack. The complaint also states that the defendants have insisted that Plavix is safe when used in combination—so-called “dual-therapy”—with aspirin, alleging that to be a preferable option that is better tolerated by the gastrointestinal system.

The lawsuit notes that a number of research findings contradict the defendants’ claims about Plavix. For instance, in 2005, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published a study showing that Plavix patients experienced a much higher rate of recurring ulcer bleeding versus patients who took aspirin plus a heartburn pill. The defendants’ marketing claims were again called into question in 2006, when the NEJM published another study in which researchers looked at the effects of dual therapy with aspirin plus Plavix and found that the combination had no significant benefits in preventing atherosclerotic events when compared to aspirin alone.

This not the only Plavix lawsuit making news in recent months. Most recently, a Plavix lawsuit was filed on behalf of 64 Plavix patients who alleged bleeding side effects; that it suffered strokes and heart attacks after taking Plavix; and that Plavix can cause heart attacks, internal bleeding, strokes, blood disorders, or death.

This is also not the only lawsuit filed on behalf of a Plavix patient by Parker Waichman LLP. On May 30th, the national law firm filed 18 Plavix bleeding lawsuits on behalf of people who suffered serious gastrointestinal bleeding, allegedly due to their use of the medication. The lawsuits were filed in the Supreme Court of New York, County of New York. Parker Waichman LLP also filed an additional six Plavix bleeding lawsuits on April 30, 2012, also in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York. Those complaints allege that the plaintiffs’ use of Plavix caused them to suffer from a number of bleeding side effects, including gastrointestinal hemorrhage, cerebral hemorrhage, and the blood condition TTP.