Xarelto Lawsuit Alleges Severe Injuries, Fatalities

Thirteen plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit against multiple defendants, claiming that Xarelto, a blood-thinning medication, caused serious and sometimes fatal internal bleeding. The lawsuit names as defendants Janssen Research & Development LLC, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, and Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals and demands that these parties be held accountable for serious complications allegedly caused by Xarelto.

This complaint was filed on August 6, 2015 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Pursuant the Transfer Order of the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML), the lawsuit has been filed into multidistrict litigation (MDL) No. 2592. This MDL, which is proceeding under Judge Eldon E. Fallon, was created for the purpose of consolidating Xarelto lawsuits that alleged internal bleeding and were filed in federal courts across the country. The centralized cases will share coordinated pretrial proceedings to streamline the litigation process and prevent the possibility of duplicative discovery or contradictory rulings.

Common allegations regarding Xarelto

Quite often, a lawsuit only lists one or two plaintiffs. However, joinder of parties may occur when multiple plaintiffs share common facts or questions of law pertaining to the claim, and if the claims are linked to the same occurrence. In this case, joinder of parties was considered appropriate because all of the plaintiffs either used Xarelto or they represent the estate of someone who did take Xarelto. Additionally, they all claim that this blood-thinning medication, which was designed, manufactured, and marketed by the defendants, was the cause of severe internal bleeding.

The plaintiffs report being diagnosed with serious medical problems such as severe gastrointestinal bleeding, brain hemorrhage, acute blood loss anemia, hematuria, and death. These 13 plaintiffs who have recently had their lawsuit consolidated with the Xarelto MDL have a high likelihood of resolving their claims with a settlement deal, which means that the lawsuit would not be remanded back to its home district following the coordinated proceedings of the MDL.

Some of the plaintiffs are:

• Debra Mawyer, who is representing the estate of her father, Charles F. Longerbeam, Sr. and has power of attorney over Grace Longerbeam, the surviving spouse. Mawyer alleges that Xarelto caused the decedent to suffer fatal gastrointestinal bleeding and brain hemorrhage.
• Alan R. Rudolph, the surviving spouse and personal representative of the estate of Erlinda C. Rudolph. The decedent passed on September 26, 2014 after suffering from internal bleeding following the use of Xarelto.
• Tommie M. Varnadoe, a North Carolina resident who used Xarelto for approximately two years and suffered from severe internal bleeding, including gastrointestinal bleeding and anemia.

Plaintiffs claim inadequate testing, failure to warn

Among the many allegations listed in the Xarelto internal bleeding lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim that the defendants failed to adequately test the anticogaulant before they filed the application for FDA approval. They further allege that the defendants did not issue adequate warnings to the plaintiffs, the decedents, or their healthcare providers that the drug had the potential to cause life-threatening internal bleeding. The plaintiffs demand compensation for medical care, hospitalization, personal injuries, physical pain, mental anguish, diminished enjoyment of life, and death.

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