Pradaxa Injury Lawyer

Information About Pradaxa

Pradaxa (dabigtran) is a prescription medication designed to prevent blood clots. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2010, the medication is used to prevent strokes and blood clots that are associated with atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat). Since Pradaxa and other similar drugs prevent clotting, patients taking the medications are at a higher risk of excessive bleeding. Unfortunately, whereas blood thinners like Coumadin and Lovenox can be counteracted with Vitamin K injections, Pradaxa has no known antidote, meaning patients taking the medication can bleed to death as a result of taking the medication.

Pradaxa has caused as many as 260 deaths around the world in the two years it has been on the market. Despite these horrible events, the FDA has not yet issued a recall on the drug and it remains on the market.

Pradaxa Side Effects

The side effects experienced by patients taking Pradaxa range from mild to extremely serious. Side effects include:

Heartburn
Nausea
Coughing Up Blood
Heavy Menstrual Bleeding in Women
Dizziness and Headache
Difficulty Breathing
Swelling of the Limbs
Bleeding from the Gums and Nose
Prolonged Bleeding Resulting from Cuts
Internal Bleeding
Death

Recent Studies on the Dangers of Pradaxa

The Randomized Evaluation of Long-Term Anti-coagulation Therapy (RE-LY) study was conducted in 2009 and updated in late 2010. The study analyzed patients at risk of stroke due to atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) taking two different doses of Pradaxa (dabigtran) as compared to Lovenox (warbatrin). Study findings revealed that:

16.4% of people taking Pradaxa experience bleeding
3.3 % experience serious bleeding
1.5 % experience life threatening bleeding
0.3 % experience life-threatening bleeding in the brain
17.4 % of people taking Pradaxa who later required emergency surgery experienced major bleeding

A January 2012 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that patients taking Pradaxa have a 33% higher risk of suffering from a heart attack or severe symptoms of heart disease than do those being treated with Lovenox (warbatrin). Study authors Dr. Ken Uchino and Dr. Adrian Hernandez, both of the Cleveland Clinic, reached their conclusions after reviewing data from seven different clinical trials involving over 30,000 patients.

A March 2012 review of Pradaxa use published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed there was a marked risk of severe bleeding in elderly or frail patients being treated with Pradaxa. Over the course of two months, 7000 patients being treated with Pradaxa were observed. During that brief time frame, 78 bleeding incidents occurred, 12 of which were major and one of which potentially contributed to the death of an elderly patient. It is interesting to note that of the 78 bleeding incidents, 22 of those patients were being treated with a reduced dose of Pradaxa, which is supposed to decrease the risk of bleeding events.

Unfortunately, as these studies indicate, the lack of any known antidote for Pradaxa, combined with its chemical make-up, puts individuals being treated with the drug at an increased risk of developing life-threatening conditions like uncontrollable bleeding and heart attack.

Contact a Pharmaceutical Injury Attorney for Your Pradaxa Case

If you or a loved one was being treated with Pradaxa and suffered from a serious medical injury, you may be entitled to compensation. A pharmaceutical injury attorney from Arnold & Itkin can assist you in filing a claim to hold the pharmaceutical company accountable for the dangerous drug that was given to you. Our law firm has successfully secured hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements over the last few years for our clients, and we want your case to be our next victory. Don't hesitate to call our office today; we can provide you with a free and comprehensive consultation if you have been injured or lost a loved one due to a side effect Pradaxa.

Contact a Pradaxa injury attorney from our firm today to schedule your meeting and to further discuss your Pradaxa injury case.