The team at Hughes & Coleman is ready to listen to you about your experience with Pradaxa®. Some patients taking Pradaxa® may have suffered from gastrointestinal bleeding, severe bleeding, and even cerebral hemorrhaging.
NO ANTIDOTE EXISTED FOR PRADAXA®
If you have been prescribed an anticoagulant, you have probably been informed that you may suffer from a fatal bleed or you may be at an increased risk of bleeding. This is common in blood thinner medications, but what makes Pradaxa® different is the fact that there was not sufficient information released about the increased risk.
In addition, there was no antidote available for Pradaxa®, which meant if fatal bleeding occurred, there was no way to stop it. Other blood thinners available, such as warfarin, have a reversal medication that can be used when internal bleeding occurs. The reversal medicine is doses of vitamin K to stop the bleeding and clot the blood.
Vitamin K is often relied on to help stop severe bleeds that may occur, but this reversal agent does NOT work with Pradaxa®. The only available method that has been proven to be effective against bleeding caused from Pradaxa® is emergency dialysis, but doctors have stressed this is not a viable option for patients who are experiencing a fatal bleed.
Boehringer Ingelheim is a pharmaceutical company that manufactures Pradaxa®. Lawsuits have been filed against the company claiming that they did not properly disclose enough information about the side effects of this drug to consumers. Lawsuits also claim that there was no warning about a lack of a counteractive medication either.
Without the proper warnings and information about the product, patients could not be aware that life threatening or disabling side effects could occur due to the inability to stop a bleed.
In addition to Boehringer Ingelheim’s alleged failure to warn consumers, the lawsuits also claim that the manufacturer never supplied a warning to surgeons, ER doctors, or medical professionals on how to handle a bleed.
Elderly and fall victims are especially prone to bleeding and when these patients are taking Pradaxa®, doctors do not have a way to stop the bleeding. Again, the only way to handle the bleeding is through emergency dialysis and this is not always an option.
The lack of the antidote presents a clear and present danger, especially for fall victims and the elderly. Common antidote remedies used for other blood thinner medications include prothrombin complex concentrates, vitamin K, and fresh frozen plasma. These antidotes work for other blood thinners such as warfarin, but they do not work for patients who take Pradaxa®.
Patients who take Pradaxa® are at a higher risk of developing spontaneous bleeding and severe internal bleeding from minor trauma. Those patients who take this medication should avoid any and all activities that can lead to minor or major injuries.
In 2014, the FDA released an announcement after a study was conducted on how Pradaxa® compared to other blood thinners such as warfarin. The FDA said that patients who took Pradaxa® had a 28 percent higher chance of gastrointestinal bleeding over those who took warfarin. The same study also revealed that Pradaxa® had a lower risk than warfarin when it came to the rates of death and stroke. Both medicines had the same rate or near the same rate for heart attacks.
Another study that was conducted later in 2014 found that Pradaxa® was linked to an 85 percent increased risk of a patient developing gastrointestinal bleeding.
In addition, Pradaxa® is not recommended to patients who have mechanical heart valves as there is an increased chance of internal bleeding. The FDA released a study on this in 2012 and found patients with heart valves were more likely to develop blood clots, have a stroke, or suffer from a heart attack.
THE TEAM AT HUGHES & COLEMAN CAN HELP YOU WITH YOUR PRADAXA® LAWSUIT
At Hughes & Coleman, our team of personal injury attorneys are here to help you. Whether you or someone you loved has suffered injuries or a major bleed from taking Pradaxa®, we want to hear from you.
Our team will sit down with you and review your case while providing you with the information we see fit to help you fight back and speak out against the manufacturer. It is our belief that all pharmaceutical companies should provide adequate warnings and information about their products.
Boehringer Ingelheim allegedly failed to provide consumers and medical personnel with accurate information about the lack of an antidote, which led to over 500 deaths from severe bleeding and the inability to stop it. As of late-2015, the FDA made an announcement about the development of an antidote for Pradaxa® called Praxbind.
Our team is dedicated and focused on uncovering any and all compensation that you may be entitled to. You should not have to suffer at the hands of a negligent pharmaceutical company.
If you are ready to discuss your case, contact the team at Hughes & Coleman today. We offer FREE Pradaxa® case evaluations and are available 24/7 to help you
Cases likely to be referred.
Do not stop taking a prescribed medication without first consulting your doctor. Discontinuing a prescribed medication without your doctor’s advice can result in injury or death.