A jury in Hartford Superior Court has decided that Ridgefield-based drug maker Boehringer Ingelheim must pay a man who took its blood thinner before suffering gastrointestinal bleeding $542,465 in compensatory damages, as well as pending punitive damages of as much as $1.1 million.
According to court records, New York resident Eugene Roberto sued Boehringer almost exactly three years ago, blaming the drug Pradaxa for his early 2014 10-day hospitalization with a severe gastrointestinal hemorrhage, which was followed by months of recovery. His complaint alleged that “there was no agent to reverse the anticoagulation effects of Pradaxa and that if serious bleeding occurs, it may be irreversible, permanently disabling, and life threatening.”
A jury in Hartford late last week concurred with Roberto, finding that Boehringer was liable for its failure to warn.
The jury awarded economic damages of $42,464 and noneconomic damages of $500,000. In addition, the jury decided that punitive damages were warranted.
Robert’s attorneys said Tuesday that the trial judge will assess the amount of punitive damages, which could be as high as $1.1 million.
In a statement Wednesday, Boehringer said it is “committed to patient safety and improving patients’ lives” and disappointed in the verdict, which it said is different from three prior cases in the same court. The company said it will “pursue all avenues of appeal.”
