Jan. 9, 2017 – San Diego, CA — The first bellwether trial in the Xarelto multidistrict litigation is set to begin this coming March. The second and third bellwethers are scheduled to follow in April and May.
The massive Xarelto bleeding litigation now contains more than 14,000 lawsuits pending in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Fewer than two dozen federal lawsuits were pending nationwide when the multidistrict litigation (MDL) was created in December 2014.
The lawsuits stem from allegations that the blood-thinning drug Xarelto could cause uncontrollable bleeding in some people. The lawsuits accuse the drug’s manufacturers, Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Bayer Healthcare, of failing to warn about Xarelto’s potential risks.
Injured after taking Xarelto? You may qualify for a Xarelto lawsuit
The first bellwether trial involves a Louisiana man who took Xarelto for atrial fibrillation, or Afib, and suffered from life-threatening gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding.
Joseph Boudreaux Jr. took Xarelto for just under a month in 2014 before he was hospitalized for severe internal bleeding, according to court documents.
Boudreaux needed several blood transfusions and was hospitalized for four days as a result of his Xarelto bleeding episode. He then required follow-up medical treatment following his stay in the hospital.
Boudreaux filed a Xarelto lawsuit against Janssen and Bayer in December 2014, accusing the two manufacturers of concealing their knowledge of Xarelto’s defects from physicians and patients like himself.
He sued both drug makers for the physical pain and mental anguish caused by Xarelto, as well as medical expenses, diminished enjoyment of life, lost wages, and loss of consortium (his wife is also a named plaintiff on the lawsuit).
Why are bellwether trials important?
Bellwether trials are important to the multidistrict litigation process for many reasons. They give attorneys on both sides of the litigation a chance to test out which arguments and evidence work and which do not in front of a jury. They can also help steer future settlement negotiations because they provide a good indication of how similar claims may fare in front of other juries. (Source: Bellwether Trials in Multidistrict Litigation, Eldon E. Fallon et al., 2008.)
Bellwether trials are chosen from the pool of consolidated cases to best represent the litigation as a whole. In the Xarelto litigation, the bellwether cases involve patients who either:
- took Xarelto to treat Afib and suffered a GI bleed, brain bleed, or rectal bleed
- took Xarelto to treat deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) and suffered a GI bleed, brain bleed, or rectal bleed
Xarelto MDL Bellwether Schedule
U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon is presiding over the Xarelto multidistrict litigation. Late last year, he pushed the bellwether trial schedule back several weeks because of potential logistical problems posed by the relocation of the NBA All-Star Games to New Orleans.
The updated bellwether trial schedule is as follows:
- First trial – March 13, 2017 in the Eastern District of Louisiana
- Second trial – April 24, 2017 in the Eastern District of Louisiana
- Third trial – May 30, 2017 in the Southern District of Mississippi
- Fourth trial – To Be Set in the Northern District of Texas
Joseph Boudreaux Jr.’s is the first case to go before a jury in the Xarelto MDL.
The second, third and fourth cases are:
- Orr et al v. Janssen Research & Development LLC et al (2:15-cv-03708)
- Mingo v. Janssen Research & Development LLC et al (2:15-cv-03469)
- Mingo v. Janssen Research & Development LLC et al (2:15-cv-03469)
The case is Boudreaux, Jr. et al v. Janssen Research & Development LLC et al (2:14-cv-02720) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Xarelto lawsuits continue to be filed
There are more than 14,000 lawsuits consolidated in the Xarelto MDL in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana as of Dec. 15, 2016.
There is still time to file a Xarelto lawsuit but you need to act fast.
If you or a loved were injured as a result of taking Xarelto, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Hood National Law Group can help you get the justice you deserve. Call us today at 1-800-214-1010 to speak with a member of our legal team. We can help you determine if your case qualifies with a free case evaluation.
