Still Waiting For The First Jury Verdict In A Fosamax Bellwether Trial Involving Femur Fractures, After The Su v. Merck Case Ended Suddenly In A Mistrial
(Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com)
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UPDATE: "Verdict for Merck in Suit Alleging Fosamax Causes Femur Fractures" (New Jersey Law Journal, 5/1/13)
Jurors answered "no" to the first question on the verdict sheet, which was, "did Bernadette Glynn prove by the preponderance of the evidence that she experienced an atypical femur fracture in April 2009?"
Their answer of "no" meant they did not proceed to questions on adequacy of Merck's warning and the proper amount of compensation.
The verdict was reached after 15 days of trial before U.S. District Judge Joel Pisano.
(5/3/13)
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UPDATE: "Merck Wins First Femur-Related Fosamax Suit" (Law360, 4/29/13)
Merck & Co. on Monday triumphed in a New Jersey bellwether trial over femur fractures allegedly caused by its bone drug Fosamax, after a jury ruled that the nature of the plaintiff’s injury ruled out Fosamax as a potential cause.
A New Jersey federal jury found for the drugmaker, deciding plaintiff Bernadette Glynn’s femur fracture could not have been caused by Fosamax, a drug prescribed to treat diminished bone density, agreeing that Glynn’s fracture was consistent with a traumatic injury rather than compromised bone health....
(4/30/13)
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UPDATE: "Jury rules in Merck's favor in Fosamax trial" (Bloomberg, 4/29/13)
(4/30/13)
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UPDATE: "Statement on FOSAMAX® (alendronate sodium) Product Liability Trial":
... In Glynn v. Merck, the plaintiff alleges she used FOSAMAX and sustained an atypical femur fracture.
... Merck believes the evidence will show that the plaintiff did not sustain an atypical femur fracture, that FOSAMAX did not cause plaintiff’s fracture, and that the company acted responsibly in researching and developing FOSAMAX and in monitoring the medicine ever since it has been on the market.
Merck Press Release, 4/9/13
(4/11/13)
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UPDATE: "At Fosamax trial, attorney charges Merck knew drug increased risk of fractures":
Merck & Co. was aware its Fosamax osteoporosis drug might cause bone brittleness and increase fracture risks years before it was made available to the public, a lawyer told a jury today at the start of a lawsuit trial....
Bloomberg News, 4/9/13
(4/9/13)
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In mid-March 2013 the Su v. Merck trial started but was stopped, i.e., mistrial declared, before the second week of testimony began due to an unfortunate medical development concerning the plaintiff.
Today, April 8, 2013, the trial for this so-called "bellwether", or test, case, Glynn v. Merck Co., 3:11-cv-05304, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, begins in Trenton, NJ, with Judge Joel Pisano presiding.
This second Fosamax - femur fracture bellwether case concerns a broken femur suffered by New York resident Bernadette Glynn in April 2009, after she had been using Fosamax regularly over a period of seven years, starting in 2002.
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Strictly Confidential, No Obligation.
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As regards some of the evidence that the jury will hear during the Glynn trial, from an April 8, 2013 Bloomberg news report, "Merck Starts Fresh Trial on Fosamax Broken-Leg Claims":
In preparation for the [Glynn v. Merck] trial, [Judge] Pisano ruled on March 8 [2013] that Merck couldn’t block testimony or evidence about the short-term effectiveness of Fosamax. [Judge Pisano] granted [Merck's] bid to block evidence about e-mails containing opinions of non-Merck employees regarding the drug’s effectiveness, calling them “inadmissible hearsay.”
In the same ruling, [Judge] Pisano said [attorneys for Plaintiffs Richard and Bernadette] Glynn could only use so-called adverse event reports -- formal descriptions of similar injuries suffered by other people -- to show whether Merck had been properly notified of a possible connection between Fosamax and [atypcial, low-stess femur fractures].
We will be monitoring this April 2013 Glynn v. Merck Fosamax trial, which is expected to last about three weeks, and will report the jury verdict here when it becomes available.
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