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As reported in Bloomberg News, the jury today found for Johnson & Johnson and Bayer AG in the first Xarelto internal bleeding product liability lawsuit to go to trial.

The federal jury in New Orleans found that J&J and Bayer didn’t defectively design Xarelto and didn’t mislead a Louisiana man and his doctors about the blood-thinning drug’s health risks.

First Xarelto Bellwether trial

The jury finding was the first of more than 18,000 federal and state court lawsuits against J&J and Bayer, which jointly developed Xarelto, to come to trial.

These pharmaceutical companies face bellwether trials over three other Xarelto users’ claims in the next three months.

The second trial will involve Joseph Orr, the husband of a woman who used Xarelto for about a month before she died from bleeding in the brain (cerebral hemorrhage). The cases will go to trial in Louisiana in the next few months.

Xarelto Blockbuster drug

Xarelto is Bayer’s top-selling product, generating $3.24 billion in sales in 2016. Xarelto is J&J’s third-largest seller, bringing in $2.29 billion in 2016.

According to J&J and Bayer officials, the jury’s finding affirms the safety of the blood thinner, used to prevent blood clots that can lead to fatal heart attacks and strokes.

What is Xarelto?

Xarelto belongs to a new class of oral anticoagulants drugs replacing Coumadin, which has been the go to anticoagulant since the 1960s.

Critics of Xarelto stress that the drug has no antidote, so it puts some users at high risk for bleeding out if they suffer an injury. Coumadin’s blood-thinning effects can be reversed.

That puts patients at risk of serious side effects including possible death, depending on the nature of the bleeding. And patients reportedly don’t have to use the drug for long to suffer a side effect.

According to patients’ attorneys, J&J and Bayer officials should have warned patients they could be tested to assess their Xarelto bleed-out risk.

J&J and Bayer advertise that Xarelto is “safe and effective” for patients seeking to prevent clots and the drug doesn’t raise undue risks. The companies say millions of users have taken the drug without suffering bleeding side effects.

The cases are Boudreaux v. Janssen, 14-cv-2720 and In RE Xarelto Products Liability Litigation, 14-MD-2592, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans).

If you or a loved one used Xarelto and have suffered injuries or wrongful death with the medication, contact the Dr. Shezad Malik Law Firm to learn more about your legal rights. You can speak with one of our team by calling toll-free at 888-210-9693, 214-390-3189 or by filling out the case evaluation form on this page.

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