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Vioxx Recall: The
international prescription drug company
Merck announced in September 2004 the worldwide
withdrawal of the arthritis medication Rofecoxib,
sold in most countries under the brand name
Vioxx, because a study showed an increased
risk of heart attack and stroke.
Vioxx
Trial: Patients
who have suffered injuries due to Vioxx
have filed litigation against Merck for
selling Vioxx even though Merck allegedly
was aware of Vioxx's dangerous
side effects. |
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Vioxx
Recall and Vioxx Side Effects |
| On April 17, 2008, it was disclosed
in litigation-related documents that Merck
drafted dozens of research studies for a best-selling
drug, then lined up prestigious doctors to put their
names on the reports before publication. Learn more... |
| On November 9, 2007, Merck & Co.,
Inc. announced that it had entered into an agreement
with the law firms that comprise the executive committee
of the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee of the federal
multidistrict VIOXX litigation as well as representatives
of plaintiffs' counsel in state coordinated proceedings
to resolve state and federal myocardial infarction
(MI) and ischemic stroke claims already filed against
the Company in the United States. Click
here to read the full text of Merck's announcement. |
| Earlier Case History |
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| On September 30, 2004, the international
prescription drug company Merck announced the recall of
its arthritis and pain medication Rofecoxib,
sold under the brand name Vioxx, because a study showed an increased risk of
heart attack and stroke. |
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| The study that led to
the Merck Vioxx recall showed that patients regularly
taking Vioxx faced twice the risk of a heart attack
as patients not taking Vioxx. Vioxx users with a history
of cardiovascular issues were at a five-fold increased
risk. |
| 2006
Vioxx Trial News Update |
| On August 18, 2006, a federal
jury in New Orleans found unanimously that Merck, the
manufacturer of the arthritis and pain medication Vioxx,
had failed to warn doctors about Vioxx’s risks.
The jury found Merck was responsible for the heart attack
suffered by retired FBI agent Gerald Barnett and awarded
$51 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Lieff
Cabraser was co-counsel and participated in the trial,
working closely with attorneys Mark Robinson and Andy
Birchfield. |
| On April 4, 2006, a New Jersey jury found that Merck failed to adequately warn patients about the risk factors linking Vioxx to heart attacks and strokes. The jury found Merck liable for one of two former Vioxx users' heart attacks and ordered he receive $4.5 million in damages. The jury found that Vioxx was not a factor in the other plaintiff's injuries. |
| In August 2005, a Texas jury awarded $253.4 million in damages to Carol Ernst, whose husband died in 2001 of heart arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat, after taking Vioxx for eight months. It was the first wrongful death lawsuit against Merck over Vioxx. In November 2005, a New Jersey jury ruled in favor of Merck in the second lawsuit against the company to go to trial. |
| Vioxx
Lawsuit and Vioxx Class Action Trial |
| Families of Vioxx patients, including clients of Lieff Cabraser, who have died and patients who have suffered severe injuries from heart attacks or strokes after having ingested Vioxx have filed Vioxx lawsuits against Merck. |
| The Vioxx cases allege that Merck falsely promoted the safety of Vioxx and failed to disclose the full range of the drug's dangerous side effects. |
| Testimony and documents have been gathered to show that Merck was long aware of Vioxx's potential heart risks but hid those risks from patients. Scientists at Merck were worried about Vioxx heart attack risks as early as 1997, two years before Merck began selling Vioxx. |
| Lieff
Cabraser: Experienced Vioxx Injury Lawyers |
| Founded
in 1972, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
is an over-fifty attorney law firm with offices in San
Francisco, New York and Nashville. For the last five
years, the National Law Journal has selected Lieff
Cabraser as one of the top plaintiffs' law firms in the
nation. |
| For
our personal injury Vioxx cases, we bring a team of experienced
lawyers. In addition, we have on staff multiple nurses, legal assistants,
scientific analysts and case clerks to assist our Vioxx attorneys. Learn more about advantages we offer patients with Vioxx problems and injuries. |
| We have been contacted by thousands of Vioxx drug patients nationwide as part of the Vioxx litigation. We have represented patients who ingested prescription drugs with dangerous, undisclosed side effects in personal injury lawsuits across America, including residents of Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming. |
| Persons living outside the United States who have been injured by an American product manufactured may also in certain cases file Vioxx lawsuits for compensation for heart attacks and strokes in United States courts. |
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Lieff
Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP |
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| Trademark Notice |
| "Vioxx" is
a registered trademark of Merck. Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP is in no way affiliated with Merck, and the Vioxx
trademark is used solely for informational purposes. |
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Copyright © 2007 Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP |
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Merck wrote
drug studies for doctors
April 17, 2008
The drug maker Merck drafted dozens of research
studies for a best-selling drug, then lined up
prestigious doctors to put their names on the reports
before publication, according to an article to
be published Wednesday in a leading medical journal.
More... |
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