As regular readers of our Missouri injury blog know, Pradaxa’s side effects, such as hemorrhaging and stroke, have sparked multiple legal actions across the U.S. On August 9, Federal District Court consolidated many Pradaxa lawsuits per the orders of a U.S. Judicial Panel. The multidistrict litigation will be consolidated in East St. Louis/Southern Illinois in preparation for the next stage – pretrial proceedings.
A recap of what the “fuss” over Pradaxa is all about
Pradaxa, also known as Dabigatran, is a pharmaceutical developed by Boehringer Ingelheim. It is prescribed as an anticoagulant for heart patients who suffer from certain types of atrial fibrillation. The drug company released Pradaxa to the market back in October 2007; since that time, mounting problems with the drug have been reported.
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISPM), for instance, analyzed reports sent to the Food and Drug Administration about adverse events with Pradaxa. The figures were pretty scary. Per one survey, 502 Pradaxa users died, and nearly 2,400 suffered from bleeding problems. Furthermore, once bleeding occurs, there is no reversal agent available. As a result, hemorrhaging often persists and leads to more complications, more surgery, and, as mentioned above, sometimes death. Lawsuits against Pradaxa allege that Boehringer Ingelheim failed to warn patients about these and other risks.
Why have the lawsuits been consolidated?
In pharmaceutical lawsuits, consolidation across districts is pretty common. The idea essentially is to make the legal work simpler for all parties involved. In other words, you don’t want to have a bunch of different rulings in pretrial, nor do you want to have to go through the discovery process again and again in different, albeit highly similar situations.
Do note that consolidation is NOT the same thing as a class action lawsuit, since individual lawsuits remain individual.
Understanding your rights as a potential Pradaxa victim – or as a friend or family member of someone who suffered serious harm while on the drug
One of the most common questions asked is: “do I have a case?”
The answer is: “absent detailed information about what precisely happened to you, when and why, no one can really answer that question.”
Fortunately, the team here at Carey, Danis & Lowe has extensive experience working with Pradaxa victims, and our team has a track record for success as well as resources to help you understand how to make progress. Connect with us today for a free case evaluation.
