Merck wins victims lose
Many experts believed that the recall of Vioxx will destroy Merck. After all the painkiller was actually a killer — it estimated that as many as 60,000 Americans died from Vioxx and over a 100,000 injured.
The legal system, though, works in interesting ways, particularly if you hire great attorneys and victims have a weak case because like most Americans they love food more than their health.
Since two out of three Americans are out of shape and it is common to see cases of heart problems and diabetes, particularly among those who also suffered from arthritis, Merck exploited their medical histories to prove their drug was not the cause.
In a very sad development, a Texas appeals court agreed with the drugmaker that Robert Ernst did not die due to Vioxx and his wife Carol Ernst is not entitled to the quarter billion dollar damages that she initially won. In a similar case, Thomas Cona and John McDarby also lost their cases. As of now, just three cases have gone in favor of victims as the company has decided to settle the rest. In yet another victory, Merck will no longer have to pay for medical monitoring of Vioxx users not claiming injury.
Obviously, it is a great setback to consumers since pharmaceutical firms can now knowingly sell unsafe drugs and if people get killed, they have not much to lose.
Pfizer Celebrex, Bextra lawsuits settlement
While Merck vowed to aggressively pursue Vioxx litigation and never settle a case, it turned out that as the company did all along, it was simply lying. After causing the painful death of a shocking 60,000 Americans, the company finally settled the Vioxx related personal injury lawsuits.
Pfizer, the other company in the painkiller business, was a smaller evil, killing fewer people with its deadly painkillers Bextra and Celebrex. While the FDA forced a recall of Bextra, it put the worst possible black box safety rating on Celebrex, which is still available but not being used by any arthritis patient who wishes to live.
Learning from Merck, Pfizer is now quietly settling lawsuits relating to Bextra and Celebrex. The Times reports that the company is offering settlement amounts of $40,000 to $50,000. If you are one of the victims of these two painkillers, it may be time to approach your attorney to discuss if receiving a cash compensation may be a better option than going against a pharmaceutical company that does not care much about human life and would rather sell a deadly drug and settle later than to develop a safe drug.
Victims agree to settlement
Looks as if Merck’s Vioxx lawsuit settlement plan to hand out token payments to victims is working. According to the company, more than 44,000 Americans have completed the documentation to receive the compensation.
It is expected that most of these victims will receive an interim payment later this year and the balance will be handed out later.
Merck had struck a deal with attorneys that left basically no choice for the plaintiffs but to join the settlement and receive whatever small amounts the company was handing out since these victims would have had difficulty finding lawyers to argue their cases.
It is estimated that as many as 60,000 Americans were killed by Vioxx and more than 140,000 suffered personal injuries.