Xarelto bleeding lawsuits continue to increase in number, In the Eastern District of Louisiana there are more than 6,400 personal injuries, wrongful death and product liability lawsuits consolidated before U.S. District Judge Fallon. The plaintiffs have similar claims that the side effects of Xarelto caused them to experience extreme and often fatal bleeding adverse event. The Xarelto lawsuits have been centralized and are set to begin in February 2017; the federal Xarelto MDL is listed as Case No. 2592 filed against Xarelto’s manufacturers, Bayer and Janssen Pharmaceuticals for pretrial proceedings and bellwether trials. As per Judge Eldon E. Fallon’s alignment the first four bellwether cases have been slated for hearings. The initial two Xarelto bellwether trials will take place in the Eastern District of Louisiana, where the MDL is centralized. On February 6, 2017 the first trial will be held and the second will take place on March 13, 2017. In additionally, the third and fourth bellwether cases will be heard on April 24 and May 30, 2017, in federal district courts yet to be specified in Mississippi and Texas, subsequently.
Bellwether Trial Selection for Xarelto
The plaintiffs who will originally file their lawsuits in Louisiana and took Xarelto to reduce the risk of stroke and embolism due to nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, the plaintiff’s age should be from 50 to 90 years old at the time of the bleeding event will be eligible for the first bellwether case for Xarelto. Those plaintiffs who suffered from a hemorrhagic stroke or Intracranial bleed, which lead to fatal injury or death will be chosen for second bellwether case. The third trial will focus on the plaintiffs who filed a claim in Mississippi federal court and suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding and of 40 to 80 years old at the time of the bleeding event and the fourth and the last Xarelto bleeding case will be identical to the first, selected will be resolve in Texas.
Xarelto and it Complications
Xarelto was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in November 2011, as one of a number of new blood thinners designed to prevent strokes due to atrial fibrillation. Xarelto is a blood thinner medication manufactured by Bayer and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The drug was launched about a year after its main competitor, Pradaxa. Xarelto is approved to treat deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, and is sometimes prescribed following hip or knee replacement. There are several severe complication associated with the drug including, brain hemorrhaging, rectal bleeding, intestinal bleeding, blood clots, pulmonary embolism, and deep vein thrombosis. Xarelto is typically prescribed by cardiologists and hematologists for the treatment of blood clotting disorders. Unlike warfarin, there is no known antidote to stop bleeding caused by this medication.
All of the complaints in the Xarelto injury litigation involve similar allegations that Bayer Healthcare and Johnson & Johnson failure to warn about the uncontrollable bleeding side effects associated with the new-generation anticoagulant or blood thinner Xarelto. As a result of these negative and potentially even fatal side effects, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against Xarelto’s manufacturers. The drug makers failed to adequately warn doctors about the lack of a reversal agent. Xarelto bellwether trial is designed to achieve value ascertainment function for settlement purposes or to answer liability issues common to a universe of applicant for the tried cases to achieve these purposes; it must be representative of all cases.