Pradaxa - The Drug That Killed Many

In the month of October 2010 Boehringer Ingelheim, a German Pharmaceuticals introduced Pradaxa (dabigatran) a new blood thinner in the market.

Marketing the drug as the U.S. FDA approved a safe and effective medicine for multiple medical issues related to blood thinning, like to prevent blood clots and stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation or who have undergone surgery, made it popular amongst Medical practitioners. Also since it was the only alternative to warfarin (also known as Coumadin), the new drug was prescribed to thousands of patients, however, to everyone's surprise, the medicine that was claimed to save lives claimed nearly five hundred and forty two (542, reported) lives, and approximately 4000 patients were reported to have suffered severe life-threatening internal bleeding.

In less than six months of its presence in the market it became a cry of thousands who were looking for some relief in the new drug from their existing health issues, however the drug was designed to kill.

What makes it heinous is the fact that the maker Boehringer Ingelheim was aware of certain facts that it kept hidden from the masses, knowing the price it may cost them. In recent years, thousands of bleeding victims and their loved ones filed Pradaxa lawsuits. Due to the number of claims filed, cases were consolidated to a special federal Multi-District Litigation court in Illinois. The case was known as MDL No. 2385, IN RE: Pradaxa Product Liability Litigation, Southern District of Illinois.

In-depth investigation of the matter revealed several skeletons the makers of the drug were trying to keep hidden in their closet. Several undeniable and uncontestable evidence were bought to courts notice during the course of litigation that was sufficient to conclude that the makers were aware of the internal bleeding risks of the drug, but chose to conceal internal studies than t o warn patients. The maker is also reported to have destroyed the evidence requested by the court.

Boehringer the maker of the drug faced the start of trials over Pradaxa in the may of 2014, however right in the beginning even before a single case was heard they opted to pay a compensation of $650 million to settle all the cases filed. The administration of this settlement was done and over with by spring of 2015.

However even before the maker could finish disbursing the previous penalty, a new round of lawsuits from thousands of those who didn’t/couldn’t claim before are right in their face seeking justice. The all-new round of Pradaxa lawsuit is to be filed in a special state court with the intention of seeking equal or adequate compensation for the victims and their families. What sure is noteworthy is that the lawyers are still extending their hand to investigate these cases at no cost unless there is a recovery, which sure is some relief for the aching souls.

Jeff Campbell is a lawyer by profession in a personal injury trial firm in Dallas, Texas. In his free time, he likes to surf net, write and publish content on the web related to legal services.