When I discovered that Fosamax belonged to the same family of drugs as those employed in chemotherapy treatments and that these class of drugs were thought to cause osteonecrosis, I wanted to know why Merck hadn’t come forward with that knowledge. Well, as Merck has shown in its defense of Vioxx, the company is more concerned with profits than people. In the midst of the news reports about Fosamax this week, Merck spokespeople keep insisting there is no link between the drug and osteonecrosis. Yet they never offer to investigate or do something to protect the consumer taking Fosamax. In the final analyisis, it’s difficult to trust these huge pharmaceutical companies.

It appears the manufacturer of Fosamax, the osteoporosis drug, knew about potential serious problems with the drug back in 2004. Fosamax belongs to a family of drugs called bisphosphonates which are believed to cause a severe osteonecrosis. Merck has made $3million from Fosamax and didn’t want to change its labeling for fear of declining sales. Sound familiar?

For Merck & Co. the bad news doesn’t seem to end. On the heels of being hit with $9 million in punitive damages from its drug Vioxx, Merck is now facing lawsuits from its osteoporosis drug Fosamax. Fosamax is a defective product because it can cause osteonecrosis of the jaw, or a rotting of the jaw bone. The suit in question was filed in Ft. Myers, Florida and seeks class action status. The lawsuit alleges that Merck concealed and continues to hide Fosamax’s potentially dangerous side effects from patients and doctors.

Merck, the manufacturer of the pain killer Vioxx, has been ordered to pay $9 million in punitive and compensatory damages by a New Jersey jury. The verdict came after a jury concluded that the drug maker knowingly misled regulators about its troubled painkiller. Merck has stated that it will appeal the unexpected verdict.

A newly discovered Food and Drug Administration report shows the agency had data at least three years ago that some soft drinks had unsafe levels of cancer-causing benzene. Known as the Total Diet Study, the report shows that between 1995 and 2001, nearly 80 percent of the diet cola that the FDA sampled had benzene levels higher than the limit allowable in drinking water. Among 24 diet cola samples, 19 had levels that were on average four times higher.
The study did not identify brands.
Once again, the public discovers that a government “watchdog group” had information in its possession which could have been of benefit to the general public and once again the group chose to withhold it. What good is such a group if it isn’t protecting the public?

Lithotripsy, a medical procedure used to pulverize painful kidney stones, is now believed to increased the risk of diabetes as well as raise blood pressure at some later stage in life. Interestingly, the study published by the Mayo Clinic, found that the diabetes risk was related in part to the number of shocks given during lithotripsy while the rise in high blood pressure was related to treatment of stones in both kidneys, not to the number of shocks.
What does this tell us? Those seeking medical treatment need to be aware of the benefits and risks in any medical procedure. We all should become better and smarter consumers when it comes to our own health.

Trial lawyers and attorneys in general have come under attack as greedy, self-centered, bottom feeders who hurt our economy and drive up the costs of insurance. Yet that is really only a crude caricature of what we as trial lawyers do. I’m proud of the fact that I represent victims who’ve been injured through no fault of their own by someone else’s negligence. The legal system in this country is founded on the premise that those who’ve been injured are entitled, in justice, to be compensated for their injuries. It’s a notion that’s as old and venerable as civil society itself. It’s a part of a system of checks and balances that is supposed to maintain and preserve equality. I’m proud of the fact that each and every person has access to justice irrespective of their social, racial, or economic circumstances.

A New Jersey appellate court upheld the national class action status of the Vioxx lawsuits. This is significant for plaintiffs who’ve brought suit against Merck, the manufacturer of the once popular arthritis drug. The lawsuit, which seeks reimbursement for as much as $9.6 billion of Vioxx purchases, could significantly complicate Merck’s defense efforts as it battles thousands of cases brought by individuals. If it goes to trial, the stakes will be large and the plaintiffs will face a lower bar to prove their case than in the personal-injury cases that have been seen so far. A loss in the case would trigger triple damages under state law. That could increase pressure on Merck to consider a settlement, at least for some cases, which it so far has resisted, experts said.

The Florida Legislature seems bent on acquiescing to Governor Bush’s agenda to protect large corporations at the expense of the family and the average consumer. An unfortunate example of this is the current legislation seeking to ban Joint and Several Liabilty. Joint & Several Liability provides a Common Sense approach by which victims’ medical bills are paid when two or more offenders cause an injury. Joint & Several only applies if no injury would have occurred but for the fault of each offender. In such cases, Joint & Several allows each offender to be held responsible for the victim’s full medical bills and lost wages in order to ensure that a victim’s full medical bills are paid. Victims & taxpayers should NEVER be forced to pay for the careless behavior of the guilty. But that precise injustice will occur if Joint & Several Liability is eliminated.

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Northfield Laboratories has come under heavy criticism for the unorthodox manner in which it is testing its new blood substitute PolyHeme. However, it’s not the substitute itself that has caused the uproar. It’s the fact that the 31 hospitals around the country participating in the study have failed to inform the patients of the substitute’s use. The subjects of the study, badly hemorrhaging trauma patients, never gave their consent to the blood substitute. Moreover, the FDA approved the manner in which the study would be conducted.

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