Parker Waichman LLP has filed three lawsuits on behalf of the estates of victims who suffered fatal gastrointestinal and/or cerebral hemorrhaging allegedly due to the blood thinner, Plavix.

(PRWEB) June 15, 2012

Parker Waichman LLP, a national law firm dedicated to protecting the rights of victims injured by defective drugs, has filed lawsuits alleging Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis’ Plavix caused the wrongful deaths of three patients. The suits were filed on May 30th in the Supreme Court of New York, County of New York.

One of the complaints, filed on behalf of the estate of a Rapides, Louisiana man, states that the Plaintiff-Decedent started taking Plavix in 2002 and died after a cerebral hemorrhage last June (Case No. 2017532). Another suit was filed on behalf of an Ottowa, Michigan man who began taking Plavix in July 2008 (Case No. 1043498); the Plaintiff-Decedent died in June 2009, after suffering from two gastrointestinal hemorrhages and one cerebral hemorrhage. The third suit was filed on behalf of a Bexar, Texas man and alleges that Plavix caused a gastrointestinal hemorrhage in June 2010 as well as his subsequent death that August (Case No. 1054631). All three complaints allege severe and permanent injuries, physical impairment and disfigurement, physical pain and suffering, mental pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and medical expenses related to the Plaintiff-decedent’s injuries.

The lawsuits allege that the Defendants did not properly test Plavix for safety or effectiveness, exposing users to an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, blood disorders and excessive bleeding. The defendants are being charged with negligence, three counts of strict products liability (defective design, manufacturing defect and failure to warn), breach of express and implied warranty, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, negligent misrepresentation, fraud and deceit, consumer fraud, punitive damages and wrongful death.

Plavix was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1997 as an anticoagulant, meant to prevent blood clots, stroke and heart attack in high-risk patients. Aspirin, which is much more cost effective and available over-the-counter, is also used for this purpose.

The lawsuits allege that the Defendants falsely marketed Plavix as a superior version of Aspirin in claiming that it is more effective at preventing atherosclerotic events and is easier on the stomach; the manufacturers have also claimed that Plavix is safe when used in combination, or “dual-therapy” with Aspirin. According to the complaint, research findings contradict these assertions. In 2005, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published a study showing that patients had a lower rate of ulcer bleeding when taking aspirin with a heartburn pill compared to Plavix alone. The following year, NEJM published another study showing that dual therapy with Aspirin and Plavix was not significantly more effective at preventing ischemic events than Aspirin as a monotherapy. nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa042087; http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa060989

Parker Waichman LLP continues to offer free legal consultations to victims of alleged Plavix side effects, including:

  •             Cerebral hemorrhage
  •             Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP)
  •             Gastrointestinal bleeding
  •             Ulcers
  •             Internal bleeding
  •             Bone marrow damage
  •             Heart attack
  •             Stroke
  •             Death

If you or a loved experienced serious, life-threatening internal bleeding, heart attacks, strokes, or a blood disorder, and you believe Plavix is to blame, please contact their office by visiting the firm’s Plavix side effects page at http://www.yourlawyer.com. Free case evaluations are also available by calling 1 800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636).

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/6/prweb9606704.htm