The lawsuit was filed against a number of corporations that are part of Bayer Corporation and Johnson & Johnson, the marketers and manufacturers of Xarelto, a blood thinner, on behalf of the family of a man who died in 2013 after a bleeding event allegedly caused by Xarelto.

Xarelto was approved by the FDA for sale in the U.S. in 2011. It is the second in a new class of anticoagulants to be approved, after Pradaxa, which was approved in 2010. The new drugs are marketed as an improvement over warfarin or Coumadin, which is often used in stroke prevention, but may disrupt vitamin K levels and requires frequent blood testing.

In late 2014, litigants sought to establish a multidistrict litigation (MDL) for Xarelto cases. Most plaintiffs requested that the MDL be established under Judge Herndon in East St. Louis, Illinois, but the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation chose U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon in New Orleans to oversee the MDL.

The Xarelto litigation focuses on the alleged insufficiency of warning labels, including the alleged failure to warn prescribing physicians and patients that some patients are at higher risk for a bleeding event.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago work accidents and wrongful death lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The lawsuit, filed against the makers of Xarelto, alleges that the medication, which is designed to prevent strokes, instead prevented the plaintiff’s blood from properly congealing. The plaintiff, Sonja Lemoins, filed the 90-count complaint in Madison County, Illinois, against Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Bayer Corporation and several related companies.

Lemoins alleges that while the defendants marketed the drug as an effective and safe treatment to reduce the risk of systemic embolism and stroke, they had learned from clinical trials that the medication could cause an increase in excess bleeding, including bleeding that required transfusions, and gastrointestinal bleeding.

According to the lawsuit, in 2012, there were 2,081 reports filed of adverse events involving the drug, with 151 resulting in death.

Lemoins alleges that the defendants’ negligence caused her severe injuries, and she seeks a judgment of more than $4.35 million.

An MDL proceeding was established by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation for Xarelto complaints in the Eastern District of Louisiana, assigned to federal judge Eldon E. Fallon. On March 5, Lemoins’ lawsuit was removed to the MDL court, along with four other lawsuits from other jurisdictions.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.