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No Cause for Serious Concern as Federal Jury Rules in Favor of Johnson & Johnson, Bayer in Initial Xarelto Bellwether Trial

In the first bellwether product liability trial regarding the blood thinner Xarelto a New Orleans jury has ruled in favor of Johnson & Johnson and Bayer. Although this is not a favorable decision for the plaintiff, those bringing future lawsuits should not panic.

The lawsuit was brought by Louisiana resident Joseph Boudreaux. Boudreaux brought the suit against Johnson & Johnson and Bayer, the joint developers of Xarelto, after the drug allegedly caused him internal bleeding that required a lengthy hospital stay in the intensive care unit, multiple heart procedures as well as many blood transfusions. This uncontrollable internal bleeding occurred only one month after Boudreaux began taking Xarelto.

Currently, the total number of Xarelto based lawsuits is over 16,000 and growing. Xarelto is an anticoagulant that is commonly used to treat blood clots. The anticoagulant is Bayer’s top selling drug and is Johnson & Johnson’s third highest selling drug. The lawsuits are being or have been filed by patients that used Xarelto and experienced negative side effect, most commonly internal bleeding. Many of the lawsuits are based on the claim that Johnson & Johnson and Bayer did not adequately warn individuals of the possible risks linked to Xarelto, thus claiming that they were misled.

Although this initial bellwether trial resulted in a defense verdict, those bringing suit should not be in a sense of panic because it will have no direct impact on their case. This first bellwether trial was believed to be one of the strongest in terms of the defense counsel’s arguments. Also, the prescribing physician’s testimony allowed for the learned intermediary doctrine to be established in this bellwether trial by the defense.

In the upcoming months, multiple separate bellwether product liability trials are set with the goal of assisting Johnson & Johnson, Bayer and those bringing the claims in assessing the overall nature of these types of cases and possible outcomes. Once each of the bellwether trials has been completed, a better overall understanding of this type of litigation may be established. The second bellwether trial began on May 30 in New Orleans. While, the third and fourth will be heard later in 2017 and early 2018 in Mississippi and Texas.

If you or a loved one has experienced any type of negative side effect from Xarelto, please contact the Naumes Law Group at 616-227-8444 or via our web page at www.naumeslaw.com for a free consultation.

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