Pradaxa Lawsuit Trials to Begin in 2014

Austin Kirk

By Austin Kirk
Posted January 28, 2013

ADD YOUR COMMENTS 1

As individual Pradaxa lawsuits move forward in state and federal courts throughout the United States, alleging that side effects of the anticoagulant caused users to suffer uncontrollable bleeding problems, the first cases are being prepared for early trial dates that are expected to begin in August 2014.

Pradaxa (dabigitran) is a blood thinner introduced to the market by Boehringer Ingelheim in October 2010. Approved as a stroke prevention drug for patients with atrial fibrillation, it was meant to replace Coumadin, known generically as warfarin, which has been on the market since the 1950s. Pradaxa was billed as a safer, easier-to-use drug that required less patient monitoring.

Very quickly, a spike in adverse event reports surfaced over Pradaxa bleeding side effects, including thousands of cases where doctors were unable to stop or control internal bleeding that developed among users, resulting in hundreds of deaths from Pradaxa throughout the United States.

Unlike warfarin, which has a reversal agent that can be used to quickly counteract the blood thinning effects of the medication, Pradaxa had no such reversal agent and doctors were left helpless when patients began to bleed.

Hundreds of Pradaxa cases filed throughout the country allege that Boehringer Ingelheim failed to adequately research the side effects of their medication or provide adequate warnings about the risk of uncontrollable bleeding before heavily promoting the medication.

STATUS OF PRADAXA TRIAL AND SETTLEMENT TALKS

In the federal court system, the Pradaxa litigation has been consolidated as part of an MDL, or Multi-District Litigation, which is centralized before U.S. District Judge David R. Herndon in the Southern District of Illinois.

Approximately 200 plaintiffs have brought a case in the Pradaxa MDL, where they are being coordinated during pretrial proceedings in a manner similar to how a Pradaxa class action lawsuit would be handled.

There are also a number of cases pending in state courts throughout the country. Given the lack of a centralized docket system in the state court system, it is not known exactly how many cases are pending in each state. However, a number of cases have been brought in Connecticut state court, which is where Boehringer Ingelheim’s U.S. headquarters are based.

A small group of cases are being prepared for early trial dates, known as “bellwether” lawsuits, which are designed to help the parties gauge how juries are likely to respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation.

According to scheduling orders issued, the first Pradaxa trial is expected to begin in the MDL on August 11, 2014. This will be followed by a Connecticut state court case that has been scheduled to begin on September 22, 2014. At least three other trial dates have been scheduled in the MDL, which are expected to begin on November 3, 2014, January 5, 2015 and February 16, 2015.

The outcome of these cases and information obtained during preparation for the trials are designed to help facilitate possible Pradaxa settlement negotiations, which will likely intensify as the first cases get closer to the courthouse steps. Judge Herndon has ordered the parties in the MDL to meet at least once per month beginning in August 2013, to engage in discussions to settle Pradaxa lawsuits before the first cases are presented to a jury.

CONTACT A PRADAXA LAWYER

The Pradaxa lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. represent individuals throughout the United States who are pursuing financial compensation as a result of Boehringer Ingelheim’s decision to place their desire for profits before patient safety.

CONTACT OUR LAWYERS ABOUT A PRADAXA LAWSUIT

1 Comment • Add Your Comments

  • Cynthia says:

    My husband died after taking pradaxa 2 months- he suffered a stroke and died 2.days later. He was 54,

    Posted on September 24, 2013 at 9:36 pm

Add Your Comments

  • Have Your Comments Reviewed by a Lawyer

    Provide contact information below and additional private comments if you want an attorney to contact you to review a potential case.

    The information below will not be published to this page.

  • NOTE: Providing information for review by an attorney does not form an attorney-client relationship.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.