Xarelto Lawsuits Show No Sign of Stopping

New Orleans, LAXarelto lawsuits alleging patients suffered severe bleeding events after using the anticoagulant drug show no signs of stopping, with 2,400 lawsuits now sitting in the multidistrict litigation for pretrial proceedings. Plaintiffs say they were not warned Xarelto had no antidote and were not warned about the risks of a serious bleeding event while taking Xarelto.

According to reports from the Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation (JPML), as of December 15, 2015, there were 2,400 lawsuits consolidated for pretrial proceedings in MDL 2592 (In Re: Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) Products Liability Litigation, before US District Judge Eldon E. Fallon). Although the growth of the MDL has slowed down somewhat from October, there is still a significant number of lawsuits added to the MDL monthly. As of November 16, 2015, there were 2,266 lawsuits consolidated, which was up from the 1,698 lawsuits consolidated by mid-October.

Lawsuits allege patients were not warned that Xarelto, unlike Coumadin, did not have an antidote to the drug’s anticlotting mechanism. Xarelto is an anticoagulant, used to reduce the risk of blood clots and strokes. But it, like its predecessor Coumadin, is associated with an increased risk of serious bleeding events due to its anticlotting properties.

Coumadin, which has been on the market for decades, has an antidote in the form of vitamin K. Patients who experienced a bleeding event and received medical attention in time could end the bleeding event. But patients on newer anticoagulants - including Xarelto - currently have no accepted antidote. That means if they experience a bleeding event, they have to wait for the drug to leave their system. Plaintiffs say if they had known about the lack of an antidote, they would not have used Xarelto.

The first bellwether trials in the Xarelto litigation are not expected to go to court until early 2017. In a case management order (11/30/15), Judge Fallon noted that the two sides could not resolve differences concerning discovery pool plaintiffs and bellwether trial plaintiffs, and issued orders regarding how cases could be selected for inclusion in the discovery pool. The judge further noted that four cases will be selected as bellwether cases but did not issue an order on selecting bellwether trial cases.

Xarelto’s maker, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, maintains the drug is not unreasonably dangerous and the drug’s warnings are adequate.