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Vioxx Users Want Medical Monitoring

-October 29, 2007 

Those who previously took the painkiller Vioxx are arguing that the drug's manufacturers, Merck & Co. should pay for the one-time medical tests needed to determine whether they have suffered heart damage by taking the drug.

Users Worry About Health Condition

Attorneys representing Robbie Traylor and Joseph Murray are asking the Supreme Court to certify a class action for their lawsuit, which received mixed rulings by lower courts.

The lawyers say that Merck & Co. should pay for the some 20 million patients who previously took the harmful drug to receive medical exams.

Many are fearful that they may have unknowingly suffered a “silent heart attack.”

Merck Pulls Vioxx

Merck is known as one of the world's largest and most successful drug companies.

After research surfaced that their most popular drug, Vioxx, was putting users at risk for heart problems and stroke, the company pulled the painkiller from store shelves.

Merck Fights Not to Pay

Although the drug company recognizes that Vioxx could cause harm, they don't feel it their obligation to pay for users to have medical exams.

They claim that many may get medical exams when they are using other drugs as well, which would defeat the effectiveness of such exams.

However, Elizabeth Cabraser, a lawyer for Vioxx users, refutes this reasoning saying, “There is a compelling need to discover risks and a typical EKG to test heart function only costs about $150. It gives each of those individuals the chance to save their lives.”

Merck also recently reported that it added $70 million to its reserves to defend the some 26,000 lawsuits against them.

(Source: Newsday)

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