This litigation has concluded and we are proud to report that our clients' claims have been successfully resolved. The amounts of all individual client recoveries are confidential, both by settlement agreement and by attorney-client privilege. MLG is no longer accepting cases involving this product.
We are currently investigating Xarelto® lawsuits by evaluating bleeding injuries associated with the use of Xarelto® (rivaroxaban), an anti-clotting medication approved to: (1) prevent deep vein thrombosis (DVT), i.e. blood clotting, in patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgery; (2) treat DVT and pulmonary embolism (PE); and (3) prevent the formation of blood clots in patients with atrial fibrillation not caused by cardiac valve deficiencies.
The traditional anti-clotting (blood-thinning) medication that has been used by physicians to treat these conditions is warfarin (brand name of Coumadin®). Unlike the new anticoagulants, there is an antidote to reverse the blood-thinning effect of warfarin so if a patient experiences serious bleeding from too much medication or from trauma, the bleeding can be controlled by the introduction of the antidote. However, there is no effective antidote to reverse the anticoagulative (blood-thinning) effects of Xarelto®. Therefore, unlike warfarin (Coumadin®), if unintended bleeding occurs, there is no emergency treatment that will readily reverse the anticoagulation. Consequently, patients using Xarelto® may be at a greater risk of suffering a serious bleeding event that cannot be readily reversed. Since its introduction in the U.S. in July 2011, there have been numerous reports of bleeding injuries, most notably hemorrhages, associated with the use of Xarelto®. These include gastrointestinal bleeds, hemorrhagic strokes (bleeding in the brain), and other serious bleeding injuries.
Published reports indicate that through the end of 2014, worldwide sales of Xarelto® have topped $7.3 billion and that over 3.2 million prescriptions have been written for Xarelto®. As sales of Xarelto® increased, so too did adverse event reports associated with its use. For example, through the 1st quarter of 2013, as prescriptions grew to almost 990,000, reports of serious side effects for Xarelto® approached 750,000.
Because Xarelto® is eliminated through the kidneys, the manufacturer recommends that doctors periodically assess the kidney function of patients with compromised kidney function to check that their dosage is appropriate. This is particularly important for patients whose kidney function may decline.
Xarelto® is approved for post-surgery inhibition of blood clots that can form after hip and knee surgery. Published in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, a study conducted in England by a group of surgeons examined the records of more than 13,000 patients who had undergone total hip and/or knee replacement surgery in 2009. The study revealed that patients who were prescribed Xarelto® had a higher rate of post-surgery wound complications requiring additional surgery as compared to those who were treated with the traditional medication, low-molecular-weight heparin. (Xarelto® Rate = 3.85% vs, LMWH = 2.81%).
This litigation has concluded and we are proud to report that our clients' claims have been successfully resolved. The amounts of all individual client recoveries are confidential, both by settlement agreement and by attorney-client privilege. MLG is no longer accepting cases involving this product.