There is more information to report in this blog’s ongoing coverage of the lawsuits against the makers of the blood-thinner Xarelto. New case filings in the Philadelphia mass tort against Janssen Pharmaceuticals (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson) and Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals are gradually increasing as the Xarelto litigation moves forward in its early stages.
After 50 new cases were filed in March, the total number of plaintiffs against Xarelto now stands at roughly 170. Attorneys involved in the litigation are unsure if the trend in filings will continue, but plaintiffs’ attorney Michael M. Weinkowitz did observe that, “there are a number of people out there holding back cases, sort of waiting to see where we go and where the MDL goes.”
According to the petition from the plaintiffs, by the end of 2012, Xarelto had already caused over 2,000 injuries and at least 151 deaths. The number of prescriptions written for Xarelto has increased since then to more than 11 million nationwide, and it is likely that the number of related bleeding injuries and deaths have increased similarly.
Court records show that the attorneys for defendants fought against the petition to establish a mass tort in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Defense counsel stated in court papers that a mass tort in Philadelphia wasn’t necessary because the plaintiffs were not from Pennsylvania and could join the federal multidistrict litigation underway in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Defense attorneys also questioned whether plaintiffs’ claims were similar enough to warrant a mass tort, using differences in how the plaintiffs could have individually experienced aspects of Xarelto’s marketing as an example.
Could an Attorney Help With My Xarelto Injury Case?
Despite all of the evidence that shows that Xarelto causes uncontrollable and potentially fatal bleeding, Janssen and Bayer continue to aggressively market the drug and deny its clear dangers. It is vital that victims of Xarelto’s appalling side effects come forward to send the drug makers a strong message that apathy toward injured patients is not an option in the future.
Attorneys that know how to conduct mass torts and federal multidistrict litigation help injured victims send that message by leveling the legal playing field against companies making billions of dollars in revenue from dangerous, defective products. The lawyers at Colson Hicks Eidson use mass torts and a multidistrict litigation to help victims and force guilty parties to respect the health and lives of Americans. Contact the firm and look at our Pharmaceutical Litigation pages for more information about how our lawyers help people injured by defective drugs.
Colson Hicks Eidson – Injury Attorneys
Source: http://www.thelegalintelligencer.com/id=1202722739938/Xarelto-Mass-Tort-Cases-Rising-Steadily-in-Phila-?slreturn=20150307095943
Did You Know? Boehringer Ingelheim, the manufacturer of Pradaxa, another blood thinner similar to Xarelto, paid $650 million to settle 4,000 state and federal Pradaxa lawsuits last year.
