Hearings to determine whether or not to consolidate Xarelto Bleedout Lawsuits are scheduled for December 2014. Court documents indicate that multidistrict litigation status for Re: Xarelto Products Liability Litigation has been proposed by six plaintiffs who are also lobbying to have an additional 21 Xarelto Bleedout Lawsuits consolidated in MDL status for the Southern District of Illinois.
Janssen Research & Development LLC, named as the defendant, is reportedly opposing the consolidation based on its claim of insufficient similarities of the cases to justify the grouping.
Plaintiffs, however, disagree based on their allegations of inaccuracy of the product label, insufficient product testing, and an establishment of breach of warranty. Additionally, the plaintiffs are questioning the safety and effectiveness of the product.
For decades, Warfarin, marketed as Coumadin, was used successfully as a blood thinner to assist patients suffering from atrial fibrillation and increased risk of stroke. The up-side to Warfarin is it has a simple and powerful means of reversing its effect in case of an unanticipated bleeding event- immediate injection with Vitamin K. The down-side to Warfarin is the need for constant and diligent monitoring.
To eliminate the need for such laborious monitoring, Xarelto was developed as an alternative. Xarelto requires less monitoring and was considered safe and effective by the FDA because benefits to users were considered to outweigh the risks.
However, the issue with Xarelto is that, unlike Warfarin and its Vitamin K remedy, there is no anecdote in the event of a bleedout. Therefore, because Xarelto bleedouts are nearly impossible to stop, it is imperative that they be prevented from the beginning.
Reportedly, the drug's manufacturers are in the process of generating a bleedout antidote as effective as Vitamin K is for Warfarin. Unfortunately, nothing promising has come to fruition yet. Even if it had, it would not help the dozens of Xarelto patients who have already been injured or killed.
One plaintiff alleges that after taking Xarelto as prescribed by her doctor, she experienced an unexpected and recalcitrant bleedout in August 2012. Although her bleedout was not fatal, she now suffers from on-going pain and discomfort which will require medical monitoring and treatment for the duration of her life.
Many patients suffer much worse fates. By the end of the 2012 fiscal year, when Xarelto had only been on the market for one year, the FDA had received 2,081 reports of adverse events because of complications with the anticoagulant, including 151 known deaths.
Take legal action as a consumer by calling us at (215) 278-4449 if you have been harmed by Xarelto.
We at Golomb Legalcan protect your rights.