Vioxx Lawyer Seeks Medical Monitoring
Injury lawyers have sued Merck & Co., claiming that the drug maker should pay for one-time medical tests of people who might unknowingly have suffered heart damage by taking the painkiller Vioxx. Now that the pharmaceutical giant has withdrawn Vioxx from the market, the case for medical monitoring is getting serious attention.
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs, both of whom took Vioxx for years but don't have any obvious heart symptoms, asked the New Jersey Supreme Court to certify a class action for their lawsuit after mixed rulings in lower courts. The case seeks to have the drug company pay for medical exams for some of the 20 million people who used the former blockbuster arthritis pill to see if any have had a "silent heart attack," The Star-Ledger of Newark reported on its Web site Monday.
Merck, one of the world's biggest drug companies, pulled Vioxx from store shelves three years ago after research showed the popular arthritis treatment doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Yet, lawyers for Merck told the judges that the company should not have to bear the cost of medical monitoring for people with no clear sign of injury.
While it may not seek the usual relief, under these circumstances it will be interesting to follow the court’s decision. Certainly, there is arguably a compelling need to discover whether the risks of taking the drug have, in fact, materialized. In addition, the plaintiffs argue that a typical EKG to test heart function only costs about $150-a small price to pay if it saves lives.
Merck currently faces about 26,600 lawsuits representing 47,000 plaintiffs, and about 265 potential class action cases. In the product liability trials that have reached verdicts, Merck has won 10 cases and lost five.
