Merck swamped with Vioxx lawsuits

Despite the company putting a brave face, Merck is getting overwhelmed by Vioxx litigation. According to latest reports provided by the company, the number of lawsuits filed against it has shot to as many as 6,400 lawsuits as of September 30, 2005. This is pretty much in line with the earlier estimates.

Some earlier forecasts say that the total number of plaintiffs may cross 100,000 making Vioxx litigation the largest product liability case in the world. Not all victims have filed their cases yet - particularly those who live overseas. But they are moving in the right direction. For instance, Merck is reporting that approximately 3,000 claimants have entered into Tolling Agreements with the Company, which halt the running of applicable statutes of limitations.

The Humeston versus Merck trial is currently in progress in Altantic City and Guerra versus Merck has been postponed to April of next year, but Judge Eldon E. Fallon has issued an order setting the Evelyn Irvin Plunkett v. Merck case as the first case to be tried in the MDL scheduled to begin on Nov. 28, 2005, in Houston, Texas.

Judge Fallon has also scheduled three additional trials in the MDL in February, March, and April of next year. In addition, there are other state court trials currently scheduled in the next six months and beyond, including Zajicek v. Merck in March 2006. Merck is also being sued by attorneys general in several states, stockholders, and other entities.

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