While Merck & Co., Inc. has paid out billions in settlements to former Vioxx users, not all Vioxx lawsuits against the drug manufacturer have been successful. The caps on lawsuits vary by state, and the scientific evidence is considered specifically for each case. This means that some cases are stronger in court than others.

One of the most well-publicized Vioxx suits took place in Texas. The court awarded the widow of a Vioxx patient $253 million in damages after the death of her husband. The award was later reduced to the maximum amount allowed in the state of Texas, which was $26 million. In April of 2008, the verdict was overturned when the appellate court found that the prosecution had not established enough supportive evidence that the deceased man’s heart attack was a result of his Vioxx use.

In New Jersey, an appellate court overturned a $9 million award in punitive damages to a Vioxx patient who survived a heart attack. However, the court upheld the $4.5 million award for compensatory damages. The portion of the lawsuit that was overturned concerned accusations of consumer fraud by Merck. It was decided that, because the FDA had affirmed the safety of Vioxx, Merck essentially could not be considered guilty of selling an unsafe product.

Critics of the New Jersey decision say it brings to light a problem with the practice of “federal preemption,” which in effect kept the jury from considering evidence heard at trial because the FDA’s approval of Vioxx was considered to take precedence.

These two verdict reversals eliminated the two largest payouts by Merck for individual Vioxx lawsuits. A press release on the web site for Merck & Co., Inc. states that Merck’s record in court has given the company a positive outlook. The Merck site adds that of the eighteen cases that went to trial, only three resulted in settlements that were not overturned on appeal.

However, in May of 2008, on the heels of the reversals of the Texas and New Jersey verdicts, Merck agreed to pay a $58 million settlement in a class-action suit brought by 29 different states. The suit accused Merck of misleading advertising, both to consumers and doctors, that concealed the known cardiovascular risks of Vioxx. This decision also established more rigid legal guidelines concerning drug advertising practices.

In June of 2008, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that Vioxx patients who did not experience a cardiovascular event may not seek damages to cover the costs of tests to measure cardiac function. This decision, while possibly eliminating similar lawsuits, was not considered a major blow to Vioxx plaintiffs nor a major victory for Merck.

While it is impossible to predict the outcome of Merck’s legal battles over Vioxx, the billions in profits Merck enjoyed from the sales of the drug continue to hang in the balance. The Wall Street Journal dubbed Merck’s recent aggressive promotion of the drug Gardasil a “help pay for Vioxx” campaign, in recognition of the company’s need to boost income while facing massive litigation. Despite the major verdict reversals in New Jersey and Texas, Merck has paid more than $5 billion in settlements, and that amount continues to grow. In the end, these ongoing legal battles will mean a big chunk of Merck’s Vioxx profits are gone forever.

If you are considering bringing a Vioxx lawsuit, you may be running out of time. Each state has specific deadlines for filing this type of personal injury lawsuit. It is strongly recommended that you inquire with a legal professional, as soon as possible, if you are concerned about these lawsuit-filing deadlines.

Find the Right Vioxx Lawyer

Choosing the right lawyer is the first step toward a successful lawsuit. You should use the same care in selecting a lawyer as you expect your lawyer to use in handling your case. This means you should be prepared to do some legwork. You may need to contact several different lawyers before you find one you want to work with.

Vioxx lawsuits are considered personal injury cases, but that doesn’t mean just any personal injury lawyer will be right for you, even one with drug company experience.

Things to consider before you make a final decision about a lawyer:

• Don’t settle for the first lawyer you meet, or assume that your family lawyer can handle your case. Contact different law firms and see what kind of responses you get. Ask yourself these questions after the initial phone call:
  • How easy was it to talk to a live person?
  • Did the call leave you with a good impression?
  • Did you get to speak to an attorney right away?
  • Did the lawyer do more talking than listening?
• Beware of attorneys that make snap judgments about your case without gathering the details. Also, beware of any attorney who offers you a cash advance or guarantees you a large settlement. Even the best attorneys sometimes lose.
• Find an attorney with experience working against drug companies, preferably one with specific Vioxx litigation experience. This will cut down on the amount of preparation time your lawyer will need to spend on your case.
• Don’t pick a law firm based on its hourly fees alone. Expensive lawyers are not necessarily better. Likewise, don’t pick a lawyer just because he/she is the most affordable.

Get Your Own Information and Ask Questions

Don’t depend on your lawyer to tell you everything you need to know about Vioxx. Your lawyer’s responsibility is to know the law, but as a consumer, it is your responsibility to become educated about your medications.

This web site is designed to provide you with a solid basis of information, which can help you figure out what questions to ask your lawyer. Remember, your lawyer is there to be of service to you.

Information Your Vioxx Lawyer will Need

Your lawyer will need to know how long you took Vioxx, at what dosages, and for what condition it was prescribed by your doctor. If you were covered by health insurance at the time, your insurance company may be able to provide you with records of how many Vioxx prescriptions were filled.

You will need medical records showing that you suffered an adverse cardiovascular event in close proximity to your Vioxx use. You may need to provide a list of all expenses related to your heart problem, such as hospitalization, surgery, and/or rehabilitation costs, if you are trying to recover these expenses in your lawsuit. If you are a family member bringing a suit on behalf of a deceased patient, you will need records of all of the death-related costs, such as burial, cremation, etc.

Your lawyer will ask you for specific documentation related to your case, and will be able to tell you where to get the information if you don’t have it.

Next Step: Start Contacting Lawyers

Each page of The Vioxx Advisor contains contact forms, through which we encourage you to submit questions and other requests for information. We can assist you in finding the right law firm to handle your case. Please feel free to use these forms, as their purpose is to provide a convenient and helpful resource for our readers.

Note: Bringing a lawsuit against Merck does not guarantee that you will receive a cash settlement, nor does it assure a verdict in your favor if your case goes to trial. Additionally, even in successful lawsuits, verdicts and awards can be reversed on appeal.

After the withdrawal of Vioxx in 2004, consumers panicked. The news of heart attacks in thousands of Vioxx patients hit the headlines, and the ensuing media frenzy attempted to uncover the explanation, and more to the point, decide who was to blame.

In the beginning, Merck stood by its safety data regarding Vioxx, insisting that there had been no apparent risks until patients had taken the medication for 18 months. Merck said it regarded the deaths among Vioxx users as notable, but statistically insignificant. However, the families of Vioxx patients who suffered heart attacks and strokes believed the risk had been too high.

Vioxx lawsuits, however, are not only coming from patients and families of patients who have suffered cardiovascular events they believe to be linked to Vioxx. Class-action Vioxx suits against Merck also include patients who did not experience complications, but nonetheless feel that they would not have taken Vioxx if they had known about the possible risks. Additionally, Merck has faced multi-state class-action lawsuits accusing the company of false advertising and manipulation of study results. Even labor unions whose employees received Vioxx through union-sponsored health insurance programs are filing suits against Merck.

Lawsuits against Merck accused the drug giant of false advertising; essentially omitting their own findings concerning cardiovascular events in their massive marketing campaign to sell Vioxx to consumers and doctors. Merck’s advertising of Vioxx touted the drug as a stomach-safe aspirin alternative. Vioxx advertising did not include any mention of the drug’s cardiovascular risks. Even in its marketing to doctors, Merck downplayed the heart attacks that occurred in Vioxx clinical trials.

Vioxx Lawyers

The internet is flooded with ads for Vioxx lawyers, but if you believe you were injured by Vioxx and you need legal representation, make your choice carefully. Don’t pick a lawyer solely based on low fees or the promise of a huge settlement. Find a personal injury lawyer with experience in the area of medications or drug companies. Your lawyer should be willing and able to answer all of your questions, and it is your responsibility to become educated about what questions to ask.

Beware of any Vioxx lawyer who offers you a cash advance on a projected settlement, because even a great lawyer can’t be 100 percent sure that your case will be successful. The contact forms provided on the Vioxx Advisor can provide you with access to professional legal advice and representation. These forms are located on the right side of each page on this site.

Damages Claimed by Vioxx Patients

Most Vioxx litigants are seeking reimbursement for all expenses related to cardiovascular events they experienced while taking the drug. This could include lost time at work, medical expenses, travel expenses, as well as any measurable, emotionally-related expenses like psychotherapy. In the cases brought by the families of now-deceased Vioxx users, the damages also typically include burial or similar death-related expenses paid by the family.

Non-material damages in lawsuits, which are much more difficult to measure, can cause settlements to reach the millions or billions. These damages include such things as pain and suffering, loss of life enjoyment, loss of career opportunities, loss of physical abilities, etc. Because these types of damages are not measurable in dollar amounts, the amount awarded depends on the judge’s decision, which might be based on damages awarded in similar cases or on an agreement between the attorneys in the case.

Merck Attempts to Ward off Future Lawsuits with a Huge Settlement

In November of 2007, Merck announced that it would place $4.85 billion into a special fund; Vioxx litigants could then petition to receive settlements out of that fund. This act was not considered a settlement by Merck, but rather an attempt to prevent having to pursue each and every case separately. One firm in Alabama, whose lawyers planned to pursue this settlement fund, had more than 5,500 Vioxx plaintiffs in 2007.

At the time of Merck’s announcement, it was estimated that this massive payout by Merck would settle up to 47,000 Vioxx lawsuits out of court. In order to be eligible to receive part of the settlement money, patients had to have evidence of a cardiovascular event within 14 days of taking Vioxx, and they had to have taken at least 30 doses of Vioxx in total.

The deadline for filing a petition to receive a portion of this settlement money was June 30, 2008. Thousands of plaintiffs came forward just before this deadline.

Although Merck originally set aside just under $1 billion for its projection of Vioxx lawsuits, it has now paid out more than $5 billion, and many more lawsuits are still pending.