This is Michael Brady Lynch, lead trial attorney for The Michael Brady Lynch Firm.
A Xarelto MDL is likely on the very near on the horizon.
As a growing number of Xarelto lawsuits continue to be filed in U.S. District Courts nationwide, a group of plaintiff attorneys, including attorney Michael Brady Lynch, Esq., of The Michael Brady Lynch Firm, are seeking to consolidated the federal cases before one judge for coordinated pretrial proceedings as part of an MDL, or Multi-District Litigation.
The Michael Brady Lynch firm has several Xarelto bleeding cases filed in both state and federal court. This includes one case in the Southern District of Illinois. In total, there are currently at least 21 product liability lawsuits pending in 10 different federal district courts. These involve injuries or deaths associated with uncontrollable bleeding on Xarelto. Xarelto is a new generation anticoagulant. Patients use the drug to prevent strokes among patients with atrial fibrillation. Also, it can prevent blood clots.
As Xarelto injury lawyers continue to review and file additional cases, they expect more several thousand cases in the coming months. These involve similar allegations.  The manufacturers of the drug failed to provide adequate warnings about the risk of severe bleeding. Additionally, they failed to manufacturer an approved reversal agent.
We filed a motion for transfer late last week. Plaintiffs have called on the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) to centralize all cases before U.S. District Judge David R. Herndon. This will be in the Southern District of Illinois. We did this to reduce duplicative discovery into common issues. This avoids conflicting rulings from different judges. Also, it serves the convenience of the parties, witnesses, and the courts.
Known as an MDL, such coordinated proceedings are common in complex pharmaceutical litigation, where a large number of lawsuits have been brought involving similar injuries associated with the same medication or product.

Background on Xarelto Bleeding Problems

Xarelto (rivaroxoaban) was introduced by Bayer and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals in 2011, as part of a new generation of anticoagulants promoted as a superior alternative to Coumadin (warfarin), which has been the go-to blood thinner for prevention of strokes among patients with atrial fibrillation for decades.
While all blood thinners carry a risk of bleeding problems, Xarelto and other members of this new generation of anticoagulants lack an approved antidote. Doctors use it to reverse the effects of the drug. While doctors can quickly stop the blood thinning effects of warfarin, users of Xarelto have reported experiencing uncontrollable bleeding. Physicians were unable to stop it. This led to severe injury or death.
According to allegations raised in the mounting Xarelto litigation over bleeding problems, Bayer and Johnson & Johnson placed their desire for profits before consumer safety by failing to adequately warn about the risks associated with their new medication or the lack of an available Xarelto reversal agent.

About the Xarelto Petition

If the JPML agrees to establish an MDL for the cases, the litigation will be managed during pretrial proceedings. This will be similar to a Xarelto class action lawsuit’s discovery phase. However, unlike a class action, each lawsuit will remain an individual case. This means plaintiffs must establish the drug maker’s failure to warn caused injury or death.
Following coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings, a judge could schedule a series of early trial dates. This helps both sides gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony. This evidence could repeat throughout the litigation. However, if Xarelto settlement agreements are not reached following the pretrial proceedings, each individual case transferred into the MDL would be returned back to the United States District Court where a plaintiff originally filed for a separate trial.
The U.S. JPML is expected to hear oral arguments on the motion to establish a Xarelto MDL at an upcoming hearing session scheduled for either December 4, 2014 in Charleston, South Carolina, or January 29, 2015 in Miami, Florida.
Update: JPML PANEL HEARING set for 12/4/2014 in Charleston, South Carolina. Notices of Presentation or Waiver of Oral Argument due on or before 11/17/2014.

We Are Still Accepting Cases

If a doctor prescribed Xarelto to you or a loved and suffered an internal bleed or intracranial hemorrhage, please contact The Michael Brady Lynch Firm. We offer a free, no-obligation case evaluation.
About the Firm: The Michael Brady Lynch Firm is a trial firm with a focus on pharmaceutical mass tort cases involving SSRI and Anti-Seizure Medication Birth Defects including Lexapro, Zoloft, Effexor, Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, Depakote and Topamax, Testosterone cardiac events, Mirena IUD, Actos Bladder Cancer, Lipitor diabetes cases, and medical device cases including DePuy Hip and Trans-Vaginal Mesh cases. Contact us today if you or someone you know has experienced side effects involving these products.