July 24, 2015 — The widow of a man who died from uncontrollable bleeding after taking the blood-thinner Eliquis has filed a lawsuit against Pfizer Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
The lawsuit (PDF) was filed today by Deborah J. Herschell on behalf of her husband, Donald, in federal court in New York (Case No. 1:15-cv-05808).
Mr. Herschell was prescribed and started taking Eliquis in August 2014 to prevent strokes associated with atrial fibrillation. Less than three months later, he developed uncontrollable gastrointestinal bleeding and bled to death.
She joins a growing number of people who accuse the drug-makers of negligence for failing to adequately test Eliquis or warn about the risk of bleeding.
According to the complaint, clinical trials were conducted by “incompetent and untrustworthy agents in China” who hid unfavorable results and failed to report a death even though the study was specifically looking at deaths. Records were allegedly falsified and some went “missing” just before the FDA visited.
Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb are also accused of failing to warn about uncontrollable bleeding or investigate a reversal agency to Eliquis before it hit the market:
“Unlike generally known measures taken to treat and stabilize bleeding in users of warfarin, there is no effective agent to reverse the anticoagulation effects of Eliquis, and therefore no effective means to treat and stabilize patients who experience uncontrolled bleeding while taking Eliquis.”
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