Pradaxa Lawsuit News: Judge Overseeing Federal Pradaxa Bleeding Litigation Orders Documents Unsealed, Bernstein Liebhard LLP Reports
New York, New York (PRWEB) February 04, 2014 -- The federal judge overseeing thousands of Pradaxa lawsuits (http://www.pradaxalawsuithelp.com/) that allege the blood thinner caused patients to suffer life-threatening and uncontrollable internal hemorrhaging has granted a request by plaintiffs to unseal dozens of documents Boehringer Ingelheim had designated as confidential. In an Order issued in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois on January 29, 2014, Judge David Herndon unsealed the 85 documents, after finding that the Germany-based drug maker had not sufficiently explained why it had marked them as confidential. (In Re: Pradaxa (Dabigatran Etexilate) Products Liability Litigation – MDL No. 2385)
According to court documents, Boehringer Ingelheim asserted that the documents in question contained “nonpublic internal communications" that included sensitive proprietary business information. Attorneys for the company had also argued that plaintiffs only sought to have files unsealed in an attempt to try the Pradaxa lawsuits in the press. But Judge Herndon wrote that the Boehringer Ingelheim had to demonstrate that the documents would need protection, and that removing the confidentiality designation would result in serious injury to the company.
“We are investigating a number of cases on behalf of individuals who claim to have suffered Pradaxa bleeding similar to what is being alleged in these lawsuits. We are pleased to see the litigation moving forward, and will continue to monitor its progress,” says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, nationwide law firm representing victims of defective drugs and medical devices. The Firm is currently offering free legal evaluations to individuals who may have been harmed by Pradaxa.
Pradaxa Bleeding Allegations
Introduced in October 2010, Pradaxa is a blood thinning drug used to prevent strokes in people with atrial fibrillation. According to court documents, the medication was positioned as an improvement over decades-old warfarin, even though there is no readily available antidote to reverse internal bleeding that can sometimes accompany its use. Warfarin bleeding, by contrast, can be stopped easily via the administration of vitamin K.
In December 2013, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced a new, large-scale assessment of Pradaxa bleeding rates in relation to warfarin. The previous April, the Institute of Safe Medicine Practices reported that Pradaxa had been named in more than 3,200 FDA adverse event reports in 2012, the most of any drug monitored by the agency. Of those, more than 580 involved a patient death. By contrast, warfarin was named in only 861 incident reports, including 56 deaths.*
According to court documents, there are currently more than 2,100 Pradaxa lawsuits pending in the Southern District of Illinois. All of the complaints accuse Boehringer Ingelheim of failing to provide adequate warnings about the risk of Pradaxa bleeding, including the lack of an antidote.
Alleged victims of Pradaxa bleeding may be entitled to compensation for physical and financial damages related to their injury. To learn more about filing a Pradaxa lawsuit please visit Bernstein Liebhard LLP’s website, or call 800-511-5092 to schedule a free, no obligation case review.
*ismp.org/QuarterWatch/pdfs/2012Q4.pdf, ISMP, October 17, 2013
About Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993, including those who have been harmed by dangerous drugs, defective medical devices and consumer products. The firm has been named by The National Law Journal to the “Plaintiffs’ Hot List,” recognizing the top plaintiffs’ firms in the country, for the past 11 consecutive years.
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Contact Information:
Felecia L. Stern, Esq.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
info (at) consumerinjurylawyers (dot) com
http://www.pradaxalawsuithelp.com/
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Felecia L. Stern, Pradaxa Lawsuit Information Center, http://www.pradaxalawsuithelp.com/, +1 800-511-5092, [email protected]
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