Xarelto Led to Uncontrollable, Fatal Bleeding, Lawsuit Alleges

A woman in Vermont has filed a lawsuit alleging that her father suffered a fatal, uncontrollable brain bleed after taking the anticoagulant Xarelto. The lawsuit alleges that Bayer AG and Janssen Pharmaceuticals failed to warn about the risk of irreversible bleeding and did not inform consumers about the lack of an antidote to reverse the bleeding. Plaintiffs in Xarelto litigation assert that the drug was marketed as a superior version to warfarin, a decades-old blood thinner that can be reversed. Warfarin requires dietary restrictions and blood monitoring, while Xarelto does not.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff’s father began taking Xarelto to treat his atrial fibrillation, an abnormal heart rhythm that increases the risk of blood clots and stroke. He sustained a head injury after taking the drug, and suffered a parenchymal hemorrhage, a type of brain bleed. The suit alleges that, despite six days of medical care, doctors were unable to stop the bleeding because the medication was still in his system.

The plaintiff alleges that Janssen and Bayer were negligent to release a drug that did not have a reversal agent. She alleges that the drug makers should have informed consumers about the possibility of uncontrollable bleeding.

In the Eastern District of Louisiana, a multidistrict litigation has been established for Xarelto lawsuits. So far, more then 2,800 cases have been consolidated. U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon is presiding over the MDL. Additionally, another 550 lawsuits have been centralized to a mass tort program underway in Philadelphia.