The family of a Tennessee man who suffered a fatal bleeding event while taking Xarelto has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturers of the blood thinner, alleging that they downplayed the risk of gastrointestinal bleeds associated with the medication. The Xarelto wrongful death suit was brought by Harry and Joseph Griggs in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on August 14, following the December 2013 death of their father, Charles Griggs. If you have suffered side effects of the blood thinner Xarelto, or if you lost a loved one to a Xarelto bleeding complication, contact a qualified Xarelto lawyer today to explore your possible compensation options.
Xarelto (rivaroxaban) belongs to a class of new-generation blood thinners, known as “direct thombin inhibitors,” which are prescribed to reduce the risk of blood clots and stroke in patients. Xarelto and other new-generation anticoagulant drugs, like Pradaxa, have been marketed by their makers as superior alternatives to older blood thinners, like warfarin, which has been on the market in the United States for decades. However, mounting research indicates that the use of Xarelto and Pradaxa may actually put patients at risk for side effects like internal bleeding, hemorrhaging and wrongful death, with no antidote available for doctors to control Xarelto bleeding events.
According to allegations raised in the Xarelto lawsuit, Charles Griggs died from complications of a bleeding event that occurred in August 2013, which the family claims was caused by side effects of the anticoagulant drug Xarelto. The wrongful death case joins a growing number of Xarelto lawsuits filed against Bayer Healthcare and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals unit, alleging that the controversial blood thinner is unreasonably dangerous, and that the drug companies intentionally withheld information from consumers and the medical community about the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding from Xarelto.
The Griggs family alleges in their wrongful death suit that Bayer and Janssen employed direct-to-consumer advertising claiming that Xarelto was safer than other anticoagulants, like warfarin, and easier to use, requiring less patient monitoring. However, the Xarelto advertisements failed to provide warnings indicating that, unlike warfarin, there is no approved antidote to stop the blood thinning effects of the medication in the event of a bleeding complication. Furthermore, the lawsuit points out that doctors were not adequately warned that the antidotes frequently used as reversal agents for other blood thinners would not work with Xarelto, and were given no strategy to handle Xarelto bleeding complications.
As a result of Charles Griggs’ alleged Xarelto-related bleeding complications and subsequent death, his family is seeking compensatory and punitive damages against Bayer and Johnson & Johnson for negligence, breach of warranty, strict product liability, fraudulent concealment, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraud and deceit, and wrongful death. If you have suffered serious bleeding complications you believe to be related to the use of Xarelto, our consumer advocates at the Consumer Justice Foundation can help. We are dedicated to protecting the rights of consumers harmed by dangerous pharmaceutical drugs, and can help put you in touch with a qualified attorney who has experience handling Xarelto wrongful death claims.
