Legal Claims Filed Against Merck May Exceed 100,000
The federal court judge overseeing the recently established Multi-district Litigation ("MDL") for the personal injury and wrongful death cases involving the withdrawn pain drug Vioxx said last week that the Vioxx lawsuits will take several years to resolve in his estimation.
U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon was quoted by Reuters as stating "I hope to get this entire litigation finished in four to a maximum of five years."
Vioxx was withdrawn from the U.S. market in September 2004 after numerous studies linked it with an unacceptable increased risk of various cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks and ischemic strokes. Vioxx was prescribed to relieve pain and inflammation caused by arthritis as well as other medical conditions.
Some attorneys have predicted that as many as 100,000 lawsuits alleging injury and death will be filed against Merck & Co. in the Vioxx litigation.
Merck maintains that it acted responsibly as concerns Vioxx, and has publicly stated numerous times that the company intends to contest each and every lawsuit which is filed in court.
- Read more about the Vioxx recall
http://www.druginjurylaw.com/Vioxx-information.html
(Posted by: Tom Lamb)