Pradaxa Most Dangerous Drug of 2011, Report

According to figures acquired by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the popular blood thinner Pradaxa was the medication with the most reports of serious or fatal adverse drug reactions in 2011. The data, which came from an Institute for Safe Medication Practices surveillance program called QuarterWatch, showed that Pradaxa surpassed all other drugs in overall number of reports (3,781), deaths (542), hemorrhage (2,367), acute renal failure (291), and stroke (644). Since the vast majority of adverse drug events are not reported to the FDA, it is widely assumed that these figures are actually much higher. Pradaxa has been the subject of many lawsuits alleging that manufacturer Boehringer Ingelheim did not include adequate safety warnings or instructions on how to deal with serious Pradaxa bleeding events.

It is believed that Pradaxa is particularly dangerous because there is no reversal agent, so bleeding complications can easily lead to the death of a patient on the blood-thinner.

Pradaxa (dabigatran) is an oral blood thinner in class of drugs called direct thrombin inhibitors, prescribed after hip and knee surgery and to prevent strokes and blood clots among patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (a kind of irregular heartbeat). It is believed that Pradaxa is particularly dangerous because there is no reversal agent, so bleeding complications can easily lead to the death of a patient on the blood-thinner. Therefore, when someone falls and experiences internal bleeding, it may not be able to be stopped. According to the report, the ten drugs with the most reports of adverse reactions (in numerical order) are Pradaxa, Coumadin, Levaquin, Carboplatin, Zestril, Cisplatin, Zocor, Cymbalta, Cipro, and Bactrim.

Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against Pradaxa’s manufacturer, and are moving along in federal court. According to the Madison Record, a ruling on whether the lawsuits will be consolidated into multidistrict litigation (MDL) will likely be announced soon. This would consolidate all lawsuits filed in federal court into one location. The lawsuits reportedly include claims for negligence, liability for design defects and failure to warn of the drug's risks, fraudulent concealment and negligent misrepresentation, as well as violations of state Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Acts.

Have you or a loved one experienced severe bleeding while taking Pradaxa? If so, you may be eligible to seek legal remedy through a lawsuit against the drug’s manufacturer Boehringer Ingelheim. To learn about your potential legal options, tell us about your injuries in the free case review form on the right.