Product Liability Lawyer Blog
A man from Florida has filed a new Xarelto injury lawsuit against Janssen Pharmaceuticals (a division of Johnson & Johnson, which is the U.S. marketing partner of Xarelto) and Bayer A.G. which is the German pharmaceutical giant that manufactures the medication. As part of this lawsuit, he is claiming negligent manufacture of a defective drug, among several other related claims.
The lawsuit was filed in a United States District Court and technically has several more named defendants than listed above because each of these other companies have several wholly owned subsidiaries that were involved in the manufacture and marketing of Xarelto according to a recent news article from the Louisiana Record.
The complaint alleged that plaintiff used Xarelto for around a year beginning in the summer of 2013. He claims, while taking Xarelto, he started to experience internal bleeding in his gastrointestinal tract beginning in September of the following year. He was in severe pain and suffering and could have died from the internal bleeding condition. He further alleges that the painful condition is irreversible and has led to permanent damage.
As our Boston Xarelto injury lawyers have seen in far too many cases, this negligence is a result of the companies who designed, tested, and marketed the dangerous drug, choosing not to investigate likely safety concerns related to the need to adjust the dose.
Xarelto is designed primarily for patients who have a serious medical condition know as atrial fibrillation (Afib) or another serious medical condition know as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Afib is defined as an irregular heartbeat not caused by defective heart valve, and DVT is a related condition whereby blood clots can form deep within the veins of the legs. These clots can then break free and travel through the victim’s circulatory system where they punch a hole in the lungs known as pulmonary embolism (PE) or block the flow of oxygenated blood to the brain, resulting in a stroke.
The traditional medication for many years was Warfarin (Coumadin), and, while this drug works, the dose has to be closely monitored through frequent blood tests and watching of a patient’s diet. If the dose is off, a serious bleeding condition can occur, but there is a reversal agent.
The makers of Xarelto marketed their drug as being much safer and having the same dose for all patients. Now in these many Xarelto injury lawsuits, plaintiffs are alleging there was a need to monitor and change the dose, and the company did not do needed tests and failed to disclose the seriously important information. There are also allegations that the company did not disclose this known potential danger to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in their application to put the drug on the market or in their required aftermarket follow up testing.
This particular plaintiff is asking for a trial by jury and is asking for various different types of damages. It should be noted that many of these cases will become consolidated as courts do not want to try the same issue or set of facts over and over again in the interest of judicial economy.
If you are the victim of Massachusetts product liability, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment — (617) 777-7777.
Additional Resources:
Consumer accuses pharmaceutical firms of manufacturing defective drug, May 25, 2016, Louisiana Record, By News Desk
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New “Aggressive Rehab” After Total Knee Replacement, March 21, 2016, Boston Defective Household Products Lawyer Blog