American Wrongful Death Law Report

Vioxx Use Has Resulted In Heart Attacks, Strokes & Blood Clots: Claims For Wrongful Death & Injuries.

Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. has killed and seriously injured tens of thousands of patients by vigorously marketing Vioxx to consumers. Since at least 2001, Merck knew or should have known that Vioxx was dangerously defective and put patients at increased at risk of heart attacks, strokes and blood clots. Merck downplayed, hid and lied about the dangers of the drug for years in order to bolster its profits. Because millions of Americans have taken the drug, which more than doubles the risk of heart attack and stroke, the Food and Drug Administration estimates that more than 27,000 patients have suffered heart attacks or have died as a result of their use of Vioxx.

On September 30, 2004, Merck withdrew Vioxx to limit its liability for manufacturing and marketing this defective drug. The building wave of lawsuits that had been filed and that will be filed due to developing scientific evidence forced Merck to withdraw the drug. Prior to Merck's decision to withdraw Vioxx, firms participating in the Wrongful Death Attorney Network had filed dozens of lawsuits for people who were injured using Vioxx and for the families of people who died after using it.

If you have suffered a heart attack, stroke or other injury after using Vioxx, or if a member of your family has died after using Vioxx, please contact us immediately to speak with one of our attorneys and to investigate your right to file suit against Merck & Co.

Merck's actions, in vigorously marketing the drug when it knew that consumers were potentially being exposed to enormously increased risk, borders on the criminal. In August of 2001, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggested that Vioxx could increase the risk of cardiovascular events -- including heart attacks, strokes and chest pain. In September of 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter to Merck, warning the company to stop making false claims regarding the safety of Vioxx. The letter highlighted the results of the "VIGOR" study, which showed a doubling of adverse "cardiovascular events" in patients who used Vioxx. Notwithstanding this study and the FDA's warning letter, Merck dismissed as irrelevant a 2002 study by University of Pennsylvania researchers that suggested that the drug could cause blood clots in mice. This study, published in the scholarly journal Science, suggested that the use of Vioxx could create a chemical imbalance that would increase the risk of excessive blood clotting. Blood clotting in turn can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and pulmonary embolism, all life threatening conditions. Vioxx may also cause severe intestinal damage, including ulcerations and bleeding, and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), a fatal skin disease.

Even when there was substantial evidence that it was a deadly and dangerous drug, Merck continued to vigorously market Vioxx. Worse yet, Merck failed to provide adequate warnings to consumers and doctors of the likely risks the drug presented. Vioxx represented a huge stream of revenue for Merck - more than 2.5 billion dollars a year. Evidently, the company viewed its profits as being more important than the safety of consumers.

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