Lawsuits Increasing in the US and Canada with Risks of Xarelto Use

The blood thinner Xarelto (rivaroxaban) is a relatively new anticoagulant that has gained popularity through its convenience of use for the patient. Warfarin, also known as Coumadin, the established anticoagulant for the last 60 years, requires dietary restrictions and a stringent blood testing regimen. The downside of Xarelto is that it was placed on the market with no available antidote, reports Lawyers and Settlements.com.

Lawsuits continue to mount in the U.S. as well as in Canada. In September 2012, a woman in Calgary came close to suffering a heart attack after she experienced internal bleeding while using Xarelto. “They advised her … that Xarelto was the cause of her hemorrhaging and that unlike other anticoagulants such as warfarin, there was no way to reverse the effects of Xarelto,” according to the Calgary Sun.

Health Canada, the equivalent to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), logged 1,100 adverse effects connected to Xarelto, according to the Xarelto Side Effects class action suit. The lawsuit says, “A dozen of those adverse effects registered with Health Canada indicated that death had resulted from Xarelto.”

An 83-year-old woman from Ontario allegedly bled to death in the shower in November 2013. A lawsuit on her behalf was expected to be filed in Canada, Lawyers and Settlements.com reports.

Many patients say they would have stayed with warfarin had they been aware that Xarelto was sold to the public before a ready antidote was available. Plaintiffs also allege that the manufacturer, Bayer, was negligent in properly promoting Xarelto and neglecting to clarify the internal hemorrhaging risks incurred when taking the newer blood thinner, Lawyers and Settlements.com reports.