Fifty French plaintiffs join Vioxx lawsuit in US
By Ramsay Crooks
Published on July 22, 2005
The French patients' cases will now be included in a class action suit against Merck. The class action will allow all participating individuals to be represented in one lawsuit, and they will divide any compensation achieved through a settlement or verdict.
It has been reported that a group of more than 100 British patients are also filing a Vioxx class action lawsuit. In the United States, thousands of wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits have already been filed following the Vioxx recall.
Merck recalled Vioxx, an anti-inflammatory drug known as a COX-2 inhibitor, when research revealed that Vioxx doubled the risk of cardiac arrests and stroke in patients taking the drug for at least 18 months.
A study has shown that Vioxx may be a factor in as many as 140,000 heart related injuries before the recall. Critics claim that Merck pushed the drug through the FDA approval process and suppressed evidence of damaging side effects.
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