subject: As Fosamax Femur Lawyers Continue to File Suits, Merck Requests MDL [print this page] As Fosamax Femur Lawyers Continue to File Suits, Merck Requests MDL
As Fosamax femur lawyers continue to review and file bone fracture lawsuits against Merck & Co., the pharmaceutical manufacturer has requested multidistrict litigation, or MDL, for all such cases.
To date, more than 100 people have filed lawsuits against Merck alleging that Fosamax caused them to suffer femur and other bone fractures and accusing the company of not adequately researching the drug and failing to warn of its side effects. On March 23, Merck filed a petition with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) asking that all Fosamax bone fracture lawsuits be centralized before Judge Garrett Brown in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, close to where Merck is headquartered. If granted, MDL would consolidate the pretrial litigation of all lawsuits that accuse Fosamax of causing bone fractures, saving the time and resource of the parties involved, preventing duplicate discovery, and avoiding inconsistent rulings. MDL is commonly employed for product liability claims in which a large number of injury lawsuits involving the same product are filed.
MDL was granted for hundreds of Fosamax lawsuits in August 2006, and at least one bellwether trial has already been completed. All of those cases, however, were filed by people who claimed that Fosamax caused them to develop osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), a condition that causes jaw bone to deteriorate and die. Due to the differences between Fosamax jaw injuries and bone fracture injuries, the latter were excluded from the first Fosamax MDL.
Fosamax contains the active ingredient alendronate sodium, which is supposed to help treat degenerative bone diseases such as osteoporosis and Paget's disease. While the drug has reaped huge profits for Merck it has also been the subject of much controversy due to its dangerous side effects. In 2001 doctors began to note the link between the use of bisphosphonates (a type of drug that includes Fosamax) and jaw decay, a connection that was strengthened by the 2004 publication of a scientific study. Later that year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Fosamax warning to healthcare professionals.
More recently, claims that Fosamax can increase a patient's risk of femur and other bone fractures have surfaced. These fractures are considered "atypical" because they involve low energy fractures, meaning that they occur due to low trauma (a fall from standing height or less) or no trauma (a person who is just standing). Two studies have supported these claims, and the results of one prompted the FDA to issue a warning about a Fosamax and order revised product labeling to reflect the drug's risks.
As more details emerge about the proposed Fosamax bone fracture MDL, the Rottenstein Law Group will continue to provide updates. In the meantime, if you suffered a femur or bone fracture that you believe was caused by your use of Fosamax, consider submitting the details of your case to RLG for a free claim review. For more than 25 years, the attorneys of RLG have been helping consumers obtain compensation from the corporations that caused their injuries.
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