Find a Pradaxa Bleeding Allegations Lawyer: Resource4thePeople Reports Pradaxa Defendants Slapped With Huge Fine by Consolidated Federal Lawsuits Judge
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) April 02, 2014 -- http://www.resource4thepeople.com/defectivedrugs/pradaxa-lawsuits.html
Resource4thePeople today announced important new developments involving lawsuits* alleging that the popular blood-thinner Pradaxa may cause bleeding problems.
The judge overseeing over 2,000 such lawsuits has recently issued an order fining the defendants in the case $931,500 for obstructing the efforts of lawyers for Pradaxa plaintiffs to gather evidence to support their allegations.
The defendants are Boehringer Ingelheim International and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Pradaxa, who are defending themselves in a multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Southern Illinois.
"The wrongs here are egregious in the eyes of the Court," wrote Chief Judge David R. Herndon in his March 13, 2014 order.**
"As hereinbefore provided, there may be more orders yet to come; orders which take actions designed to determine what aspects of the plaintiffs’ case have been prejudiced or even so damaged as to interfere with their ability to prove what they legally have to prove and for the facts of this case to come out. Going forward, based on the findings heretofore, pursuant to the Court’s inherent powers, and to encourage defendants to respect this Court and comply with its orders, the Court fines both defendants, jointly and severally, $931,500.00 ($500.00 per case)."
Resource4thePeople supports the judge's order to ensure that a level playing field is provided plaintiffs who are attempting to question Boehringer Ingelheim officials and review the companies' documents in an effort to support their allegations.
"Judges do not often issue sanctions or impose fines in such cases and it is obvious from his order that he feels that the defendants have been compromised in their legitimate rights in the legal process," said Resource4thePeople.
Resource4thePeople's national network of attorneys will continue to provide free consultations to consumers seeking compensation over the allegations contained in these lawsuits over serious bleeding claims.
Judge Herndon also found that because the Germany-based companies were not completely cooperating with the attempts of plaintiffs' lawyers to interview company officials that the defendants must pay for an office in Amsterdam, Holland as well as rent and travel expenses for the attorneys.
The judge also has set a schedule for a series of bellwether trials in the litigation with the first trial scheduled for September 8, 2014.
Resource4thePeople said that its no-cost consultations will determine consumers' eligibility to seek compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering and other costs in connection with expenses they have incurred in connection with the allegations.
"However, each case is different and there may be legal time limits involved and consumers are advised to contact us as soon as possible in order to preserve all of their legal options," said Resource4thePeople.
Recent federal court figures*** show that there are now 2,072 such Pradaxa lawsuits being overseen by the judge. The court file includes a summation of the Pradaxa allegations:
“All the actions share common factual questions arising out of allegations that plaintiffs suffered severe bleeding or other injuries as a result of taking the drug Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate) and that defendants did not adequately warn prescribing physicians of the risks associated with Pradaxa, including the potential for severe or fatal bleeding, and that there is no reversal agent to counteract the Pradaxa’s anticoagulation effects.”
Resource4thePeople also notes that an independent, non-profit organization**** monitoring medical safety on Oct. 17, 2013 posted figures that showed that the FDA received more reports about side effects about Pradaxa than any other drug the FDA monitors.
The Institute for Safe Medical Practices in its QuarterWatch said that 3,292 reports warning of adverse events, including 582 deaths, were filed over Pradaxa (dabigatran) in 2012.
"For a second straight year, dabigatran and warfarin are the most frequently named suspect drugs in direct reports to the FDA.," the authors of the report wrote.
"QuarterWatch has reported on the risks of anticoagulants previously and judged them to be one of the most dangerous of all outpatient drug treatments. The same property that allows anticoagulants to reduce the risk of strokes and blood clots elsewhere in the body leads to high risks for hemorrhage and other bleeding. The result is tens of thousands of emergency room visits or hospitalizations each year."
Resource4thePeople also notes that other cases continue to be filed in state courts across the country, including five recent cases***** filed in Illinois where plaintiffs are claiming that relatives either died or suffered serious bleeding problems from the use of Pradaxa.
The Madison-St. Clair Record reported****** Sept. 26, 2013 that "Some of the plaintiffs claim their relatives died within months of taking Pradaxa, while others claim chronic bleeding caused by the drug required them to be given blood transfusions to prevent their deaths."
In another Pradaxa development, the recently published findings of a trial that was conducted to determine whether Pradaxa (dabigatran) is an effective alternative to warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation was terminated because of a high number of bleeding incidents attributed to Pradaxa.
The results of the study******* were published in the Sept. 1, 2013 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine and involved hundreds of patients with mechanical heart valves who were tested in comparisons of the two popular anticoagulants.
The anticoagulant trial was terminated prematurely after the enrollment of 252 patients because of an excess of thromboembolic and bleeding events among patients in the dabigatran group, according to the published findings.
Sources:
*IN RE: Pradaxa Product Liability Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois, MDL No. 2385
**http://www.ilsd.uscourts.gov/Documents/MDL2385/CMO62.pdf
***http://www.jpml.uscourts.gov/sites/jpml/files/Pending_MDL_Dockets_By_District-February-19-2014.pdf
****http://www.ismp.org/QuarterWatch/pdfs/2012Q4.pdf
***** Case #s 13-L-469, 13-L-470, 13-L-467, 13-L-468, 13-L-466, St. Clair County Circuit Court, Ill.
****** http://madisonrecord.com/issues/895-product-liability/259488-five-pradaxa-suits-filed-in-st-clair-county#
******* http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1300615
Bill Callahan, iLawSuit, +1 858 602-2749, [email protected]
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