David and Rebecca Rowell have filed a lawsuit against Janssen Research & Development LLC, Janssen Ortho LLC, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc. for negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, and other counts of negligence.

The defendants manufacture the popular blood thinner Xarelto that has recently come under fire in a series of lawsuits for the drug’s bleeding risks. While all blood thinners come with a risk of excessive bleeding, Xarelto does not have an antidote and there is no consistent way to reverse the drug’s effect.

The lawsuit states Mr. Rowell began taking Xarelto around June 19, 2015 to help decrease his risk of blood clots. However, Mr. Rowell’s use only lasted 10 days when he suffered from a life-threatening bleeding event. Mr. Rowell suffered severe injuries from the bleeding event and incurred massive medical expenses.

Other Xarelto Lawsuits

The couple is among more than 5,300 other plaintiffs who allege the manufacturers were blatantly negligent in the design, promotion, and distribution of Xarelto.

In 2012, Janssen Pharmaceuticals received a warning letter from the FDA stating their advertisements of Xarelto were “false and misleading,” but the company did not heed the warning and continued to produce misleading advertisements.

Now Xarelto is best known for celebrity endorsements from legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, NBA player Chris Bosh, NASCAR star Brian Vickers, and Saturday Night Live comedian Kevin Nealon.

As if misleading advertisements wasn’t enough to put the manufacturers in hot water, a recent study found Xarelto was no better than other blood thinners. Plaintiffs in the lawsuits are claiming that if Xarelto is no better than other blood thinners, than the drug’s risks far outweigh its benefits.

With Xarelto lawsuits steadily increasing the manufacturers have a lot to answer for when the first lawsuits go to trial in early 2017.