Latest Xarelto Blood Thinner News
By Michael Monheit

December 19th, 2017 – Plaintiff In 1st Philadelphia Trial Wins
On December 6th, 2017, the first Philadelphia Xarelto lawsuit to go to trial concluded with the judge siding with the plaintiff and awarding them nearly $28 million. This is the first victory for a plaintiff in the ongoing Xarelto litigation and has offered the plaintiffs who continue to wait for their turn some hope.
November 22nd, 2017 – First Philadelphia Lawsuit Underway
The first of around 1,500 lawsuits which make up a mass tort in Philadelphia, PA has finally gone to trial and plaintiffs are eagerly awaiting the outcome. It has been reported that a former FDA Commissioner will testify on the plaintiff’s behalf about the risks of using Xarelto.
October 9th, 2017 – New Study Shows Increased Bleeding Risk
On October 3rd, 2017, a new study published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) showed that when researchers in Taiwan reviewed the files of 91,000 patients who were prescribed blood thinners, they found that those who took anti-fungal medications with Xarelto were more likely to suffer a major bleeding event.
September 27, 2017- Retrials Being Filed For Xarelto Bellwether Cases
Plaintiff lawyers from the recent trio of bellwether cases in the federal multi-district litigation of the blood thinner drug Xarelto are filing motions to seek retrials. They believe that newly released evidence is contradictory to the cases’ courtroom testimony and it may have swayed the jury to find for the clients. The August trial had a seven-person jury from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, that decided Bayer and Janssen Pharmaceuticals were not responsible for the internal bleeding and anemia suffered by a 69-year-old woman from Summit, Mississippi.
August 22, 2017- Bayer, Johnson & Johnson Win Third Xarelto Litigation
Bayer and Johnson and Johnson now have three wins in lawsuits involving the bleeding risks caused by Xarelto. The latest case was won in a federal court in Mississippi where a jury favored the drugmaker in a lawsuit brought forward by a woman who stated she developed acute gastrointestinal bleeding after using Xarelto. She started using the drug after an operation in 2015. Bayer and Johnson and Johsnon have stated that they will continue to defend the drug against legal attacks. Currently the drugmakers are facing over 18,600 lawsuits in both state and federal courts.
July 17, 2017- 15,000 Adverse Events Linked To Xarelto In 2016
According to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) recent QuarterWatch Report, Xarelto far outpaced the number of serious adverse effects suffered by patients in comparison to other drugs in this class. There were over 21,000 severe injuries in 2016 that were a result of blood-thinning medications and over 3,000 deaths linked to them. Of these totals, Xarelto was responsible for roughly 15,000 negative effects. The ISMP report took into consideration “notable signals of significant drug risk” as stated in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s side effects database.
June 8, 2017- Warning From ISMP About Using Aspirin With Xarelto
The Institute of Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) recently released their QuarterWatch report for the third quarter of 2016, where they state findings of an increase aspirin-related bleeding events. ISMP believes these events are linked to the use of Xarelto and aspirin. After noticing an “unexpectedly large number” of severe drug events in connection with aspirin, researchers found that aspirin was often used in conjunction with other drugs that inhibit blood clots, such as Xarelto. It was noted that the combination of drugs that are likely to reduce blood clotting creates a high risk of bleeding. ISMP stated that the long-term use of drugs such as Xarelto is likely to cause bleeding in 10-15 percent of patients per year, as well as life-threatening hemorrhages in two to four percent of patients.
May 30, 2017- Xarelto Win Has No Bearing On Remaining 18,000 Lawsuits
Recently, Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson won their first Xarelto federal trial. However, this win should have no bearing on the remaining lawsuits. There are currently more than 16,000 cases still pending in the federal multidistrict litigation, including nearly 1,400 cases that have been filed in a mass tort program that are now underway in Pennsylvania’s Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Each Xarelto case will be decided on its specific merits. Bellwether trials will continue as scheduled in the federal multidistrict litigation.
April 28, 2017- Part Time Security Guard Says Using Xarelto Was A Bad Decision
A part-time security guard who used Johnson & Johnson’s blood-thinning drug Xarelto, claims that using the drug was one of the worst mistakes of his life. He was using Xarelto to help lower his risk of suffering a stroke, instead, the drug caused him to have internal bleeding that required him to stay in hospital for a week in the intensive care unit. He also endured several blood transfusions and multiple heart procedures. His ordeal has left him cautioning other people to not have to suffer like he did from using this drug. Very soon the security guard will have a chance to have jurors hold J&J and Bayer accountable for the drug’s potentially fatal side effects. He filed a lawsuit in New Orleans which becomes the first lawsuit to target the drug and is subsequently going to trial.
March 24, 2017- Johnson & Johnson Faces Over 11,000 Lawsuits & Physician Bribes
It has been reported that Johnson & Johnson spent $28.4 million in physician bribes during 2015. These bribes are being reported at a time when the pharmaceutical company is facing over 15,000 lawsuits alleging that the company failed to warn patients and doctors about the dangers associated with Xarelto. Doctors were bribed to write prescriptions for Xarelto and the drug was at the top of ProPublica’s “Dollars for Docs” list in 2015. The ProPublica’s analysis data reveals that the more money a doctor gets from a drug company, the more likely the doctor is to prescribe that company’s brand name products.
February 24, 2017- Xarelto Bellwether Pushed Back Due To NBA All-Star Game
The maiden bellwether Xarelto Lawsuit that was scheduled to originally start in February in New Orleans, has been rescheduled. The bellwether is an important one due to the number of Xarelto bleeding issue cases that are now over 10,000. The push back is due to an NBA All-Star game which was being held in New Orleans. The event took place February 17th to 19th and it was decided to push the start of the first Xarelto bellwether lawsuit to March. The first bellwether is now scheduled for March 13 in the Eastern District of Louisiana and the second bellwether trial is scheduled for April 24.
January 27, 2017- Study Reveals That Xarelto Has A Higher Bleeding Rate Than Other Drugs
A study published in the medical journal Gastroenterology conducted by the Mayo Clinic revealed that Xarelto has a higher bleeding rate than its competitors. The researchers who conducted the study examined the effects of three anticoagulants; Xarelto, Eliquis, and Pradaxa. It was concluded that Xarelto had more incidents of gastrointestinal bleeding than the other two drugs. Data for this study examined approximately 57,000 patients with non-valve atrial fibrillation who were prescribed Xarelto, Eliquis or Pradaxa from October 1, 2010, to February 28, 2015, and had experienced gastrointestinal bleeding.
December 21, 2016- MDL Bellwether Selection Process Adopted For Xarelto Mass Tort
The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas has indicated that parties who filed Xarelto lawsuits in January 2015, will go through a process similar to the one used in multidistrict litigation to choose early bellwether trials. Instead of giving priority to the cases that were filed first, the court is going to create a discovery pool of cases. The pool is where a final few will be chosen for trial.
November 30, 2016- Xarelto Lawsuit Updates
There have been over 9,000 lawsuits filed all over the United States against the manufacturers and distributors of Xarelto. To date, there are more than 7,000 lawsuits pending in New Orleans, Louisiana in the multi-district MDL, which is overseen by U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon. In Pennsylvania, there are nearly 1,000 pending state court cases, 1,000 lawsuits filed in Delaware and more cases in California state courts.
October 18, 2016- Study Shows Xarelto Causes More Serious Bleeding Than Pradaxa
According to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, patients on Xarelto are more likely to suffer serious bleeding incidents than patients using Pradaxa. The observational study was conducted on 118,000 Medicare patients with atrial fibrillation using one of the two medications. Those taking Xarelto had significant increases in intracerebral hemorrhage and major extracranial bleeding.
September 21, 2016- Xarelto Antidote Rejected By The FDA
The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) did not approve Portola Pharmaceuticals’ antidote for uncontrolled bleeding associated with blood thinners like Xarelto. Portola’s drug called AndexXa was granted an expedited review by the FDA. However, the agency stated that it needs more information before this antidote can be approved. The FDA will revisit the antidote approval review once Portola submits more information including how it is manufactured.
August 31, 2016- Xarelto Litigation Consolidates Over Five Thousand Lawsuits
Almost 6,000 Xarelto lawsuits have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings as Xarelto plaintiffs wait to see if a bellwether trial will be heard. More lawsuits continue to be filed regularly. Bellwether cases will determine the future of Xarelto litigation. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has stated that as of June 15, 2016, more than 5,853 lawsuits have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings in MDL 2592.
June 30, 2016- Ohio Couple Alleges Xarelto Caused Damages And Anemia
An Ohio couple has filed a lawsuit against the makers of Xarelto- Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Bayer AG, alleging that the wife suffered a potentially life-threatening intestinal bleed, anemia, and other complications as a result of using Xarelto. The complications the wife suffered have hindered her from living life to the full. The couple is seeking over $150,000 in damages so that they can cover their medical costs as well as future expenses. Xarelto complications were suffered by the wife just two months after she started using the drug as prescribed by her doctor.
May 31, 2016- Xarelto Lawsuits Might Follow Pradaxa Claims Path
With the accumulation of Xarelto lawsuits, some experts are predicting that the future of these Xarelto claims might end up the way Pradaxa claims ended. Pradaxa is a similar blood thinner manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim and like Xarelto it has been accused of causing uncontrollable bleeding. In 2014, the Pradaxa drug maker settled all state and federal lawsuits for $650 million. Although Xarelto claims seem to be headed down the same path, experts say it is also too early to predict their fate despite the Pradaxa similarities.
April 22, 2016- Canadian Xarelto Lawsuits Are Increasing
As Xarelto lawsuits are increasing in the US, the same is happening in Canada. Health Canada which is the equivalent of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has registered 1,100 Xarelto related side effects since February 2015. A few of those registered cases resulted in death due to the usage of Xarelto. Canadian lawyers dealing with Xarelto cases are expecting to file another Xarelto related lawsuit involving an 83-year-old Ontario woman who is stated to have bled to death in the shower.
March 31, 2016- Xarelto Class Action Lawsuit Filed In Calgary Canada For Uncontrollable Bleeding
A class action lawsuit has been filed against Bayer Inc. in Calgary, Canada. The plaintiff in this Canadian lawsuit has stated that the drug Xarelto, manufactured by Bayer Inc. led her to experience an uncontrollable bleeding episode that almost caused her to be in cardiac arrest. This Canadian class action lawsuit follows the already established Multidistrict Litigation number 2592 in America, which includes a group of over 2,800 cases filed against Xarelto.
February 18, 2016- Thousands Of Individual Lawsuits Pending In State And Federal Courts
In the latest Xarelto national cases, there are nearly 5,000 individual lawsuits that are pending in state and federal courts filed against the manufacturers of the drug. Majority of the state court lawsuits are in Philadelphia.There are almost 600 individual lawsuits pending in Philadelphia. Currently, hundreds more lawsuits are expected to be filed in the coming months, primarily because Xarelto is still on the market and patients and doctors are not aware of the safety concerns regarding the drug.
January 26, 2016- Ohio Man Files Xarelto Lawsuit For Permanent Injuries
A man from Cincinnati, Ohio filed a Xarelto lawsuit stating that usage of the drug led to him having permanent personal injuries. The man started using the drug in May 2014 following his doctor’s orders to use Xarelto for deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
He was later taken to hospital after he started vomiting blood, following several months of Xarelto usage. It was found that he had a gastrointestinal bleed. He is suing because he believes the manufacturers should have done more to protect consumers.
