Pradaxa Lawsuits

Medical Alert: Pradaxa is a prescription drug that over the last year and a half has been prescribed in the United States as a blood thinner and has been prescribed and used to replace existing successful blood thinners like Warfarin (Coumadin), the main agent used in the United States.

Pradaxa side effects ranging from ulcers and internal bleeding to death can be grounds for a Pradaxa lawsuit. If you are considering such action, know the facts and get experienced help.

Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate mesylate) is a direct thrombin inhibitor anticoagulant, which became FDA-approved on October 29, 2010. Pradaxa reduces the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. Pradaxa is being prescribed and used to replace existing successful blood thinners like Warfarin (Coumadin), the main agent used in the United States.

Anticoagulants reduce blood clotting, which is why they are more commonly called blood thinners. Anticoagulants like Pradaxa are most commonly used in patients with atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heartbeat. This is because atrial fibrillation increases the risk of stroke, which is many times higher in patients with an irregular heartbeat.

Boehringer Ingelheim, based out of Ingelheim, Germany, manufactures Pradaxa. While relatively new to the pharmaceutical market, in 2010 alone there were over 90,000 prescriptions written for Pradaxa.

Pradaxa has the usual side effects and health risks of other blood thinners, which include excessive bleeding. However, unlike older and perhaps safer anticoagulants like Warfarin, Pradaxa has two important differences:

1. Pradaxa has no known reversal agent or antidote; and
2. There is no standard method with which to measure the anticoagulant effects of Pradaxa

Boehringer Ingelheim has marketed Pradaxa as an improvement for patients requiring frequent blood draws, which other anticoagulants mandate for safety reasons.

However, this medication has already led to reports of 260 deaths and many other serious life-threatening injuries, and those are only the reported adverse events.

Our team of drug lawyers expect that more than 260 Pradaxa-related deaths have happened, and that the families not realize the cause. If you or a loved one has experienced Pradaxa side effects including internal bleeding, ulcers, cerebral hemorrhage, life-threatening bleeding, or even death, you need to speak to an experienced pharmaceutical defect lawyer now to learn more about your legal rights. If you know that a loved one who has passed away was on Pradaxa at the time of their death, or shortly before their death, it is crucial that you speak with a lawyer as soon as possible to avoid running out of time to file your lawsuit.