The first verdict in favor of plaintiffs has recently been awarded in Philadelphia. The verdict is the first of its kind with nearly $28 million in damages against Bayer and Johnson & Johnson being awarded.
The verdict came about as a result of patients alleging that the drug manufacturers provided improper warnings about the high risk of bleeding with the popular blood thinner.
Verdict First of its Kind for Plaintiff
The verdict included allegations from an Indiana woman who suffered a critical gastrointestinal bleed while using medication.
Previously, multidistrict litigation with three bellwether cases sided with the drug makers. However, the Philadelphia case was one of 1,500 pending in a mass tort program with the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. Product liability claims associated with have been consolidated there in the mass tort program..
The determination in the verdict may have been based on allegations that Bayer Health Care Pharmaceuticals and Janssen Pharmaceuticals did not include details on the warning label for that the rate of severe bleeding events in clinical trials was much higher among patients in the United States than anywhere else around the globe.
The rate of severe gastrointestinal bleeding for patients taking in the United States was 8.1 percent per year versus 3.6 percent per year among global participants.
The companies were also accused of failing to warn about the higher risk of bleeds when the drug was used in conjunction with aspirin and failing to warn physicians that certain patients ended up with higher levels of the medication in their blood when compared with others.
Injury Risk with
The risk of adverse events associated with , according to the lawsuit, was higher than competitor medications. is often prescribed to prevent blood clots and strokes, but thousands of patients have come forward after suffering severe bleeding events.
The medication has become popular in recent years when compared with alternatives because is marketed as easier since there’s no blood testing required and it can be taken once-a-day.
Some research studies, however, show the dangers of improper monitoring of the patient, all of which can make a person more likely to suffer serious internal bleeding and a host of other side effects.
The internal bleeding poses a risk of death if not caught quickly.
According to the lawsuit information that ultimately led to the verdict, if physicians and users had been warned about the risks and if patients were given the opportunity to switch to more effective and safer drugs, they could have avoided severe and life threatening internal bleeds.
A Food and Drug Administration chief also testified in the lawsuit arguing that the warning label did not have enough information about the severity of high bleeding risks.
If you’ve dealt with a life-threatening bleed because of , you may have grounds to file a personal injury claim. Contact the attorneys at McDonald Worley today for a free case review..