NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana couple is suing Johnson & Johnson for marketing an allegedly unsafe drug designed to prevent strokes.
Dorothea and Stanley Neigut filed a lawsuit Dec. 4 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Janssen Research & Development, formerly known as Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development; Janssen Ortho; Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., formerly known as Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc. or Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Bayer Pharma AG; Bayer Corp.; Bayer Healthcare; and Bayer AG, alleging fraud, negligence and other counts.
According to the complaint, those treated with Xarelto, a blood thinner for stroke prevention and treatment, suffered severe, permanent side effects, such as bleeding, shortened life expectancy and loss of earnings. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants concealed the knowledge of the drug's defects and of its safety.
The plaintiffs seek punitive and compensatory damages to be determined by a jury, plus interest and litigation costs. They are represented by attorneys Annesley H. DeGaris of the DeGaris Law Group in Birmingham, Alabama and Gregory M. Feather of Handler, Henning & Rosenberg in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District Case number 2:15-cv-06515