Gotta love that FDA....
Thousands Of Vioxx Lawsuits Possible:
The makers of Vioxx could eventually face lawsuits involving tens of thousands of people saying they were harmed by the now-defunct arthritis drug, lawyers said Thursday as a panel of federal judges met to consider consolidating the cases.
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Lawyers who filed some of the hundreds of lawsuits against New Jersey-based Merck & Co. gathered here to ask a panel of seven federal judges to consolidate the cases for litigation in a single city.The company said it has counted at least 1,400 plaintiff groups and at least 575 lawsuits alleging the drug for arthritis and acute pain caused medical problems such as heart attacks, strokes, kidney damage and gastrointestinal bleeding. Research by the Associated Press, however, identified at least 700 lawsuits.
Whatever the number, attorneys who have formed a well-organized group to attack Merck say it’s just the beginning.
“Right now we’re not seeing a huge number of filings because we’re still evaluating cases,” said Christopher Seeger. His New York-based firm, Seeger Weiss, has filed more than 100 Vioxx lawsuits in federal court and state court in New Jersey.
and you gotta love trial lawyers. Synergy, no doubt.
