You’ve undoubtedly seen the TV commercials.
You know the ones with a middle-aged man talking about having an irregular heartbeat not caused by a faulty heart valve with a “heightened risk of stroke”…
He cheerfully announces to the camera that he takes Xarelto – a new drug that doesn’t “tie him down to once a month blood test” – giving him the freedom to live his life.
Pretty inspiring stuff – right?
These slick commercials fail to add one very significant fact… Xarelto is known to cause uncontrolled bleeding and death and in fact has resulted in injury to thousands of Americans, including 151 deaths.
Xarelto was originally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and eventually went on to garner $2 billion in sales nationwide with roughly one million prescriptions written by 2013, two years after the drug’s introduction into the market, according to court documents.
Consumer advocates are accusing the maker of the drug, Bayer and Janssen Pharmaceuticals of concealing safety information from the public and for failing to properly test the drug prior to its release.
This latest case of a pharmaceutical drug causing harm is just one of many over the last decade. Another blood thinner called Pradaxa has caused similar harm. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices recently revealed that blood thinners – including Xarelto – were among the most dangerous drugs on the market – with the highest number of serious side effects reported to the FDA. Add to that fact, the many documented examples of drug research fraud, payments to doctors to prescribe certain medications and an industry that spends more to influence government regulators than any other industry – and you have a significant problem affecting patient safety.
If you or a loved one is ever the victim of a defective drug like Xarelto, call a qualified Connecticut product liability lawyer. A knowledgeable product liability attorney can help to ensure that your rights are protected.
RisCassi & Davis has handled large numbers of these kinds of cases over our 60 years serving the people of Connecticut.
What’s more, our Connecticut product liability lawyers have received local and national recognition for our handling of these cases. Please contact us if we can help you.
The consultation is free and there is no obligation of any kind. And – there is no fee or other costs unless we are successful on your behalf.