The first bellwether trial in the
Xarelto MDL is about to begin and the Plaintiffs have won several import legal motions
which will help bolster their claims. Judge Fallon, the Louisiana federal judge
overseeing the litigation, denied partial summary judgments from the Defendants
on some claims against Bayer AG and Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., saying they
cannot necessarily blame or use FDA red tape for their lack of label updates or
for any noncompliance with Louisiana law. The motions dealt with federal
preemption of several of Plaintiffs’ claims.
The first MDL trial is set to
begin April 24th, which is one of four set to occur in the coming
months. There are more than 16,000 cases pending in the Xarelto MDL, with other
cases consolidated in Pennsylvania.
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.
Plaintiffs who have filed suit have alleged the following
injuries:
Intracranial hemorrhages
Abdominal hemorrhages
Retinal hemorrhages
Epidural hematoma
Adrenal bleeding
Excessive blood loss
GI bleeds
Death
Pittman, Dutton & Hellums,
P.C., is currently investigating and filing 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.
