Xarelto Cases Consolidated

The Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation has consolidated nearly two dozen Xarelto cases. An MDL is now set up in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana with Judge Fallon presiding. Judge Eldon Fallon is very familiar with the MDL process as he is the presiding Judge over the Chinese Drywall MDL and presided over the Vioxx MDL.

Lawyers for the Plaintiffs argued that any consolidation should occur in either St. Louis under Judge Freda Wolfson, who is presiding over the Pradaxa MDL, or sent to New Jersey. The Defendants, Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Jannsen Pharmaceuticals and Bayer, argued against consolidation.

Xarelto (rivaroxaban) is an oral blood thinner medication used to reduce the risk of blood clots and strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation and to treat blood clots in the leg and lungs. However, unlike other blood thinners like Coumadin, Xarelto does not have reversal agents to counteract its anticoagulation effects, according to the FDA.

Pittman, Dutton & Hellums, P.C., is currently investigating Xarelto cases. If you or a loved one were prescribed Xarelto and suffered an irreversible internal bleeding that lead to hospitalization and/or death, contact Booth Samuels at toll free 1-866-515-8880 or by email at booths@pittmanudutton.com.

Judge Denies Approval of NCAA Concussion Settlement

On Wednesday, Judge John Z. Lee denied preliminary approval to a proposed settlement in a class-action concussion lawsuit against the NCAA. Judge Lee still encourage the parties to continue to negotiate a settlement. Judge Lee sits in the Northern District of Illinois.

In July, it was announced that the parties had agreed to a $75 million preliminary settlement that would create a medical monitoring fund to provide testing over the next 50 years, would allocate $5 million to research, and would include recommendations the NCAA would make to its membership to codify new guidelines.

Some of the concerns raised in the Judge’s Order regarded the fairness and feasibility of the settlement. Critics have questioned whether the settlement was sufficient. An economic analysis submitted with the preliminary settlement stated the settlement would provide enough funding.

While the settlement did not include a damages class, something that would be difficult to certify, it preserved the right of any athlete to file an individual personal injury lawsuit.

JPML To Hear Xarelto Arguments Today

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (“JPML”), sitting in Charleston, South Carolina, will hear arguments today for and against the consolidation of Xarelto lawsuits. Lawyers for those injured by Xarelto are arguing for a Xarelto MDL, while Bayer and Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturers of Xarelto, are fighting consolidation.

Patients who took Xarelto, a blood-thinning drug, accuse the drugmakers of downplaying the medicine’s bleeding risks and asked that the cases be sent to U.S District Judge David Herndon in East St. Louis, Illinois. Judge Herndon is the same judge who is presiding over the Pradaxa MDL, which settled earlier this year. That settlement is estimated to reach $650 million.

Bayer’s lawyers are arguing that should an MDL be formed over their objections, that the cases  be consolidated in New Jersey under U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson. Judge Wolfson is located in Trenton and is already presiding over two Xarelto case. Another argument for consolidation in New Jersey is that it is located near corporate headquarters.  

In court filings, it is claimed that 65 deaths have been linked to bleeding caused by the drug, which has no antidote. So far, there are 21 cases filed in 10 federal courts.

As I have posted many times on this blog, MDL’s are a great mechanism for consolidating cases and can save time and money on pretrial discovery, depositions and dispositive motions.

U.S. regulators originally approved Xarelto in 2011 to prevent blood clots in patients undergoing knee and hip surgeries. The drug’s use has been extended to patients with irregular heartbeats and potentially deadly leg and lung blood clots. It is similar to Coumadin, or warfarin, used to thin stroke victims’ blood for nearly 50 years.  Xarelto was marketed as more effective at preventing strokes than Coumadin and easier to use since Xarelto patients did not need frequent tests to monitor their blood-plasma levels.

In court filings, Xarelto patients argue the companies did not properly test the blood thinner before putting it on the market, hid the fact the medicine had no antidote, and overstated the drug’s effectiveness.

The case is Xarelto Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2592, U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. A decision by the JPML will be issued in the coming weeks.

Pittman, Dutton & Hellums, P.C., is currently investigating Xarelto cases. If you or a loved one were prescribed Xarelto and suffered an irreversible internal bleeding that lead to hospitalization and/or death, contact Booth Samuels at toll free 1-866-515-8880 or by email at booths@pittmanudutton.com.