Call Today
800-936-3011
800-936-3011
Federal Judge Selects Four Bellwether Cases in Nationwide Xarelto Class Action Lawsuits
The federal judge tasked with overseeing all the pending federal lawsuits against the makers of Xarelto has selected four cases to act as bellwethers for the thousands of similar claims that are waiting to be heard. These Xarelto bellwether cases are expected to provide valuable insight into the likely responses of juries toward testimony and evidence that will be common across the full range of nationwide cases should they go to trial.
U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon oversees more than 7,200 product liability cases that have been centralized in Louisiana's Eastern District Court. Each case involves allegations similar to those in the bellwether cases: the side effects of Xarelto can cause severe bleeding complications that are often fatal, and the maker of the drug failed to properly inform medical professionals about the lack of an effective reversal agent.
The purpose of the centralization of the cases is to allow coordinated pretrial proceedings and discovery, since each claim involves issues of law and fact that are similar, as well as the execution of the leading bellwether trials that are set to begin sometime during February 2017.
Bellwether trials are intended to act as advanced test cases that will provide the defendant and other plaintiffs the information they need to conduct informed settlement negotiations and avoid the vast majority of the cases going to jury trials across the country.
Bellwether Cases
The first bellwether trial was chosen in an order on the 12th of August by Judge Fallon, and will cover the case of Joseph Boudreaux, Jr, while the second trial will be that of Joseph Orr, Jr. Both cases will be heard in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
On the 16th of August, Judge Fallon announced the third and fourth trials. Dora Mingo's complaint will be heard in the third trial, which will take place in Mississippi, while the fourth case will involve the complaint on behalf of the Estate belonging to William Henry, which will take place in Texas.
The complaint of Joseph Boudreaux was originally filed during December 2014. The plaintiff received a prescription for Xarelto that was meant to lessen the chance of a stroke resulting from atrial fibrillation (AFib). In less than a month of taking Xarelto, he began to suffer substantial internal bleeding, leading to him being hospitalized and receiving a number of blood transfusions.
The complaint of Joseph Orr was brought after the death of Sharyn Orr. Sharyn Orr was also prescribed Xarelto to lessen the risk of blood clots that are associated with AFib. Within a month of taking the drug, she suffered from a hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in the brain), and died as a result after 10 days.
The cases of Henry and Mingo both involve allegations that Xarelto caused substantial gastrointestinal bleeding.
Bleeding Complications Attributed to Xarelto
Xarelto is part of a new generation of anticoagulants that were promoted as simpler alternatives to the commonly used Coumadin, which had been the standard anticoagulant prescribed for dozens of years. An anticoagulant is a medicine that prevents blood from clotting as effectively and quickly as it normally would. While anticoagulants are commonly known as "blood thinners", they do not actually thin blood, they only make it less able to clot.
Anticoagulants are commonly employed in the treatment and prevention of blood clots that occur in blood vessels. A blood clot can block a blood vessel (a vein or artery), which can impede oxygen and blood from reaching a portion of the body, such as the brain, heart or lungs.
In the event of a blocked artery, the tissue normally supplied can be damaged or die, which can result in serious complications, such as heart attacks or strokes. A blocked vein, on the other hand, can lead to a different set of complications, such as a pulmonary embolism.
There have been a number of complaints associated with this new generation of anticoagulants, including Xarelto, that suggest severe and often fatal bleeding as a result of their use. All the lawsuits that have been centralized under Judge Fallon involve extremely similar allegations that there was inadequate information provided to medical professionals concerning the issue of uncontrollable bleeding and the lack of an effective and safe agent for quickly reversing the anticoagulant effect of the drug.
Severe bleeding is a known risk in the use of all anticoagulants, but the classic drug Coumadin had a widely known antidote to be used when severe bleeding occurred. The new generation of anticoagulants, Xarelto included, were not marketed with a reversal agent in the event of severe bleeding. Most of the complaints center on this failure of the makers of Xarelto to sufficiently inform medical professionals about the lack of a known reversal agent.
Pradaxa, one of the new generation of anticoagulants, faced over 4,000 lawsuits from plaintiffs who suffered from severe bleeding complications. After a number of years of litigation, the makers of Pradaxa paid almost $650 million in related settlements, which resulted in an average of around $150,000 per plaintiff.
The wider national use of Xarelto has led to a greater number of potential litigants from across the country, and many lawyers are still seeking out new potential clients that may have suffered similar complications as a result of the use of Xarelto. It is expected that the number of plaintiffs with similar cases against the makers of Xarelto will continue to rise in the near future.
Bellwethers and Settlements
The results of the bellwether trials will shape the likelihood that the makers of Xarelto choose to settle with the plaintiffs, as well as the magnitude of the settlements offered. Since the result of the vast majority of the cases will hinge on the same factors as these four bellwether cases, it is expected that they will all share effectively similar outcomes should they go to a trial by jury. If the bellwether cases fail to provide a set of convincing and applicable outcomes, then hundreds of cases will begin to be heard in jury trials until a more compelling set of trial outcomes occurs.
The federal judge tasked with overseeing all the pending federal lawsuits against the makers of Xarelto has selected four cases to act as bellwethers for the thousands of similar claims that are waiting to be heard. These Xarelto bellwether cases are expected to provide valuable insight into the likely responses of juries toward testimony and evidence that will be common across the full range of nationwide cases should they go to trial.
U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon oversees more than 7,200 product liability cases that have been centralized in Louisiana's Eastern District Court. Each case involves allegations similar to those in the bellwether cases: the side effects of Xarelto can cause severe bleeding complications that are often fatal, and the maker of the drug failed to properly inform medical professionals about the lack of an effective reversal agent.
The purpose of the centralization of the cases is to allow coordinated pretrial proceedings and discovery, since each claim involves issues of law and fact that are similar, as well as the execution of the leading bellwether trials that are set to begin sometime during February 2017.
Bellwether trials are intended to act as advanced test cases that will provide the defendant and other plaintiffs the information they need to conduct informed settlement negotiations and avoid the vast majority of the cases going to jury trials across the country.
Bellwether Cases
The first bellwether trial was chosen in an order on the 12th of August by Judge Fallon, and will cover the case of Joseph Boudreaux, Jr, while the second trial will be that of Joseph Orr, Jr. Both cases will be heard in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
On the 16th of August, Judge Fallon announced the third and fourth trials. Dora Mingo's complaint will be heard in the third trial, which will take place in Mississippi, while the fourth case will involve the complaint on behalf of the Estate belonging to William Henry, which will take place in Texas.
The complaint of Joseph Boudreaux was originally filed during December 2014. The plaintiff received a prescription for Xarelto that was meant to lessen the chance of a stroke resulting from atrial fibrillation (AFib). In less than a month of taking Xarelto, he began to suffer substantial internal bleeding, leading to him being hospitalized and receiving a number of blood transfusions.
The complaint of Joseph Orr was brought after the death of Sharyn Orr. Sharyn Orr was also prescribed Xarelto to lessen the risk of blood clots that are associated with AFib. Within a month of taking the drug, she suffered from a hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in the brain), and died as a result after 10 days.
The cases of Henry and Mingo both involve allegations that Xarelto caused substantial gastrointestinal bleeding.
Bleeding Complications Attributed to Xarelto
Xarelto is part of a new generation of anticoagulants that were promoted as simpler alternatives to the commonly used Coumadin, which had been the standard anticoagulant prescribed for dozens of years. An anticoagulant is a medicine that prevents blood from clotting as effectively and quickly as it normally would. While anticoagulants are commonly known as "blood thinners", they do not actually thin blood, they only make it less able to clot.
Anticoagulants are commonly employed in the treatment and prevention of blood clots that occur in blood vessels. A blood clot can block a blood vessel (a vein or artery), which can impede oxygen and blood from reaching a portion of the body, such as the brain, heart or lungs.
In the event of a blocked artery, the tissue normally supplied can be damaged or die, which can result in serious complications, such as heart attacks or strokes. A blocked vein, on the other hand, can lead to a different set of complications, such as a pulmonary embolism.
There have been a number of complaints associated with this new generation of anticoagulants, including Xarelto, that suggest severe and often fatal bleeding as a result of their use. All the lawsuits that have been centralized under Judge Fallon involve extremely similar allegations that there was inadequate information provided to medical professionals concerning the issue of uncontrollable bleeding and the lack of an effective and safe agent for quickly reversing the anticoagulant effect of the drug.
Severe bleeding is a known risk in the use of all anticoagulants, but the classic drug Coumadin had a widely known antidote to be used when severe bleeding occurred. The new generation of anticoagulants, Xarelto included, were not marketed with a reversal agent in the event of severe bleeding. Most of the complaints center on this failure of the makers of Xarelto to sufficiently inform medical professionals about the lack of a known reversal agent.
Pradaxa, one of the new generation of anticoagulants, faced over 4,000 lawsuits from plaintiffs who suffered from severe bleeding complications. After a number of years of litigation, the makers of Pradaxa paid almost $650 million in related settlements, which resulted in an average of around $150,000 per plaintiff.
The wider national use of Xarelto has led to a greater number of potential litigants from across the country, and many lawyers are still seeking out new potential clients that may have suffered similar complications as a result of the use of Xarelto. It is expected that the number of plaintiffs with similar cases against the makers of Xarelto will continue to rise in the near future.
Bellwethers and Settlements
The results of the bellwether trials will shape the likelihood that the makers of Xarelto choose to settle with the plaintiffs, as well as the magnitude of the settlements offered. Since the result of the vast majority of the cases will hinge on the same factors as these four bellwether cases, it is expected that they will all share effectively similar outcomes should they go to a trial by jury. If the bellwether cases fail to provide a set of convincing and applicable outcomes, then hundreds of cases will begin to be heard in jury trials until a more compelling set of trial outcomes occurs.