Although Merck had set a policy of fighting every Vioxx suit brought against it, on Friday morning it announced a dramatic turnaround. The company has agreed to a settlement for $4.85 billion dollars, but only if at least 85 % of those filing suit against the company agree to the settlement. This amount is considerably below what was thought to be Merck’s potential liability in the pharmaceutical injury case, as much as $50 billion.
When Merck announced a recall for the defective drug Vioxx in 2004, forecasts for the company were dismal. With over two million people taking the drug, and 38,000 fatal heart attacks attributed to the taking of the anti-arthritic, it seemed that the company could not possibly salvage either its profits or its reputation as a leading manufacturer and marketer of life-saving prescription medications. Then, when it came out that Merck had begun to be aware of the risks of the drug in 1999, and when congress issued a report stating that the company had deliberately mislead doctors, who might otherwise be charged with medical malpractice, and patients to increase the marketability of the drug, it seemed Merck was doomed.
However, Merck, like the frog in the butter churn, too stupid to know its situation was hopeless, responded by fighting every single Vioxx suit and refusing to acknowledge fault. This strategy seems to have churned up an island of butter. Winning over a third of the most dramatic cases brought against it, Merck seems to have cowed its opponents somewhat, cowed them to the point that they might think of accepting a settlement less than 1/10 of Merck’s original estimated liability, less, in fact, than its sales in Vioxx for two of the five years between when it came to know of the drug’s dangers and when it pulled the drug from the market.
If you or someone you love has been injured taking a prescription medication, you have a responsibility to seek redress from those who have wronged you. Early litigation can help force the drug-makers hand, causing them to pull the drug from the market before the company can make too much in ill-gotten gains. Contact the Law Firm of Barry G. Doyle to get help from an experienced defective pharmaceutical lawyer and stop drug profiteering.
