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Defense prevailed in the first of the Xarelto bellwether trials held earlier this month, with the jury using the learned intermediary doctrine to absolve pharmaceutical giants Johnson & Johnson and Bayer pharmaceuticals of any blame with regard to excessive bleeding by patients who took Xarelto. That being said, the two drug makers are set to face off in court with over 18,000 plaintiffs who were harmed by the blood thinner which is known to have no antidote that’s approved by the FDA.

Xarelto Caused Intestinal Bleeding in Plaintiff

The first case, heard in the Eastern District Court in Louisiana featured a man who suffered severe intestinal bleeding only a few weeks after he was prescribed Xarelto. The drug, meant to prevent stroke, led to him needing blood transfusions and a number of operations to reverse the damage done by the drug.

The jury overseeing the case intimated that the drug companies did not have a duty to inform patients that were taking Xarelto about the possibility of it causing internal bleeding as long as the companies had informed doctors about this potential.

The History of Xarelto

Xarelto was launched and approved by the FDA back in 2011, and has since become a blockbuster drug, earning the two pharmaceutical giants tens of billions of dollars in profits. Plaintiffs have since complained that Xarelto makers used deceptive marketing to place the drug as a viable and better alternative to the then blood thinner du jour, Warfarin.

Every Xarelto Case is Different

It is important to note that the Louisiana bellwether trial ruling has no bearing on the fate of over 18000 cases left, and that every case has unique circumstances and facts which means every claim will be treated differently and individually.

The second Xarelto trial is slated for May 30th in the Eastern District of Louisiana, with other cases being planned for later this summer in Mississippi and Texas.

Need Xarelto bleeding legal help? Call us today on (773) 673-9861 for your free and confidential consultation.