By Andrea Schmauss
April 14, 2012 – Houston, Texas attorney Howard Nations, the immediate past president of The National Trial Lawyers, is taking on the manufacturer of Pradaxa, a blood thinning drug which the FDA is investigating for possibly causing serious, possibly fatal bleeding. Doctors prescribe Pradaxa to help reduce strokes and prevent blood clots in patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AFib), sometimes referred to as an irregular heartbeat. Nations says the drug has been linked to bleeding so severe that it can sometimes cause death and may cause heart attacks. Pradaxa is manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG of Germany.
The Food and Drug Administration issued a safety alert regarding Pradaxa in December, 2011. The FDA is conducting a safety review of reports of serious bleeding related to taking Pradaxa. Health agencies in Europe, Japan and New Zealand have also reported cases of severe and sometimes fatal bleeding that may have been caused by Pradaxa. The drug was introduced as an alternative to Warfarin, a commonly-used anti-coagulant. However unlike Warfarin, severe bleeding caused by Pradaxa cannot be stopped by injections of vitamin K. Nations says there is no antidote for bleeding caused by Pradaxa. More than two million Americans have atrial fibrillation, which makes them prone to blood clots which can cause strokes.
Howard Nations has represented clients in all 50 states in Mass Tort pharmaceutical actions, and is available to comment on Pradaxa and its side effects. He has served as president of The National Trial Lawyers, The Texas Trial Lawyers Association, The Southern Trial Lawyers Association, the Belli Society and the Aletheia Institute, as well as serving on the executive committee of the American Association for Justice (AAJ). His practice is based in Houston, Texas.
The National Trial Lawyers is an invitation-only organization made up of America’s premier trial lawyers. Membership is extended only to civil plaintiff or criminal defense attorneys who have superior leadership, reputation, influence and stature in the legal community. For more information or to schedule an interview with Mr. Nations, contact Andrew Findley at 866-665-2852 or Adair Baine-McDonald at 334-699-8800. The National Trial Lawyers website is http://www.thenationaltriallawyers.org/
