Anticoagulants are a type of medication that is used in the treatment of a variety of health conditions. These powerful pharmaceuticals prevent blood from clotting, which is important for the treatment of patients with pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, or other conditions which place them at risk for embolic stroke. Unfortunately, some anticoagulant medications do not have antidotes that can reverse their effects in emergency situations where controlling bleeding is the only way to save the patient’s life.
One anticoagulant medication, Xarelto, has been the subject of a number of products liability lawsuits. One of these cases was filed by a woman from Louisiana who claims that her grandmother died from intracranial bleeding that was caused by Xarelto. The woman’s grandmother had been prescribed Xarelto for the treatment of deep vein thrombosis in in her leg. Two months after she began taking the medication, she developed severe bleeding in her brain, and she died shortly thereafter.
In that lawsuit and in other lawsuits related to Xarelto, plaintiffs allege that the manufacturer of the drug failed to warn doctors and patients about the serious risks associated with the product. They also say that doctors and patients have not been warned that there is no antidote available to stop Xarelto users from bleeding in situations where their lives are in danger if bleeding cannot be controlled. Xarelto is promoted as being superior to and easier to use than Coumadin (warfarin) because Xarelto does not require continuous blood monitoring. However, Coumadin has been in use for many years and its blood thinning effects can be reversed quickly in an emergency situation in order to prevent patients from bleeding to death.
Giddens Law Firm, P.A.: Supporting Products Liability Plaintiffs throughout Mississippi
Pharmaceutical products have the potential to save lives. Unfortunately, some pharmaceutical products create risks to patients’ health and safety. While some side effects of some medications are more of an inconvenience or a discomfort than a threat to health and safety, other drugs create risks that serious injury or death will occur. Blood thinning medications such as Xarelto are particularly dangerous because there is not an antidote that can be administered to stop the bleeding in an emergency. The plethora of Xarelto lawsuits that are being filed indicates that many doctors and patients are not fully aware of the risks of prescribing and using that medication. The companies that manufacture drugs like Xarelto are responsible for ensuring that their products do not create an unreasonable risk of harm to the people who use them. In the case of Xarelto, the manufacturer’s failure to warn doctors and patients of the serious risks associated with the medication can cause serious injury or death. If you or someone that you love was injured or killed by excessive bleeding while using the prescription medication Xarelto, the Mississippi Products Liability Attorneys at the Giddens Law Firm, P.A. may be able to help you. Please call our office today, at (601) 355-2022.