A new lawsuit has been filed that alleges Boehringer Ingelheim’s blood thinner, Pradaxa, is responsible for the death of a woman’s husband, New Inferno reports. Pradaxa is the subject of numerous lawsuits across the nation for the undisclosed risks it potentially poses to consumers.
“Big pharmaceutical companies in the past have been known to withhold or misplace important information pertaining to their products from the public,” commented Ned McWIlliams, a Pradaxa lawyer with the Levin, Papantonio law firm.
According to court documents, the woman’s husband was taking Pradaxa for non-valvular atrial fibrillation. He died on April 10, 2012 when he suffered from bilateral cerebellar and left frontal subarachnoid and intraparenchymal hemorrhage.
Pradaxa’s manufaturer, Boehringer Ingelheim, has been in trouble for some time over the blood thinner and anticoagulant. At the end of last year, the company was fined nearly $1 million for its failure to preserve important documents that have been sought by patients suing for damages as the result of taking Pradaxa.
“The wrongs here are egregious,” Herndon said, referring to the company’s failure to preserve the important documents.
At the beginning of this year, new documents were produced in the ongoing litigation that outline how the company had its decisions about informing the public of the dangers associated with Pradaxa influenced by marketing goals.
“The world is crying for this information — but the tricky part is that we have to tailor the messages smart,” said employee Andreas Clemens, a medical team leader with the company that worked on the drug.
The February disclosures further illustrated how the company was concerned that publication of certain internal study results would “undermine our [Boehringer Ingelheim’s] efforts to compete.
Joshua is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. You can follow him on Twitter @Joshual33.
