Popular Blood Thinner May Be Doing More Harm Than Good

Patients usually trust their physicians to prescribe them with medication that will do nothing but help them feel better. However, situations can arise where a physician prescribes medication that he or she believes to be safe, only to find that the medication can have harmful, or even life-threatening, side effects. Such claims have been made regarding the drug, Xarelto (rivaroxaban).

Xarelto is a medication that is meant to block the activity of clotting substances in the blood. The drug is usually used to prevent deep vein thrombosis which often leads to blood clots in the lungs, as well as in patients with atrial fibrillation. Xarelto works by binding to a substance called factor Xa, which prevents the formation of fibrin which is the main component of a blood clot.

The drug was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2011 and was brought to the market by Bayer as an alternative to Warfarin which was a blood thinning drug in use since the 1950s. The product has done extremely well in terms of sales, clocking in at over 9 million users. For many, the drug has done its job by preventing potentially lethal blood clots.

However, many users of the medication have complained of uncontrollable bleeding. The excessive bleeding has been found to cause irreparable injury as well as death. A study conducted by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices found Xarelto to be the most dangerous blood thinner in the marketplace with a high risk of causing significant harm.

To date, thousands of lawsuits have been filed against Bayer as well as Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals who are the distributors of the drug. Plaintiffs claim that the companies failed to properly warn both health care providers and patients of the severe dangers associated with the medication. Claims have also been made that Bayer failed to fully study and research the drug's safety while also failing to warn that no antidote exists.

Individual lawsuits have been consolidated in Louisiana (MDL-2592) where the discovery process has begun. Thus far, neither Bayer nor Johnson & Johnson have offered a settlement.

Medical malpractice can have devastating effects that last a lifetime. If you have been injured by a physician's neglect, attorneys Charles Gilman and Briggs Bedigian will work to get you the full compensation to which you are entitled. Call 800-529-6162 today or contact them online for a free case evaluation. They handle cases in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.