In August of 2005 in Texas, pharmaceutical drug company Merck was held accountable for the death of Robert Ernst, a 59-year-old produce manager at Wal-Mart. The marathon runner had taken Vioxx to alleviate his aches and pains but, in the end, suffered from fatal heart problems as a result of the painkiller so commonly prescribed at the time. Merck was handed a punishment of $253.4 million.

Considering that Merck pocketed more than two billion dollars because of the wildly popular Vioxx, this seems like little compensation for a life stolen by the drug. Vioxx was proclaimed a miracle drug for people who suffered from acute pain and arthritis, because it alleviated the symptoms without causing gastric problems, like so many other prescription painkillers did. This was because Vioxx was a special non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory medicine. Doctors weren't hesitant to prescribe Vioxx to their patients, and while Vioxx sat on the shelves from 1999 to 2005, 80 million people worldwide were given prescriptions for it.

However, Merck recalled the drug in 2005, but only after years of clinical trials and a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning revealed that the drug put people at an increased risk of potentially fatal cardiovascular problems. In the five-year period when Vioxx was on the market, thousands are estimated to have suffered injuries as a result of taking it, and more than four thousand people have sued the pharmaceutical giant as a result. Some people have opted to file individual lawsuits, while others are joining class action lawsuits in their state.

If you were prescribed Vioxx and you think it may have harmed you in ways you did not anticipate, it's important that you get in contact with a Vioxx lawyer/attorney right away. Certainly your first step should be to make an appointment with your doctor and discuss your health problems with him or her, but you owe it to yourself to get financial compensation for your injuries.

Product liability law says that a manufacturer who produces a defective product or advertises a product deceptively is accountable for its actions. A Vioxx attorney/lawyer has a remarkable grasp of product liability and also is an expert on Vioxx, specifically. This means he or she can help you determine whether or not you were indeed injured by taking Vioxx and, if so, give you the tools and resources to help you hold Merck accountable for your suffering.

Because of the length of time that Vioxx stayed in the drugstores and the fact that the FDA originally issued a stamp of approval to Vioxx, Merck is still under investigation about its negligence. You should demand compensation for your injuries, and it would serve you to keep up to date with all that's going on with the company, as it's possible even more health risks of Vioxx will be revealed in the future. But you can only really do this with the help of a Vioxx attorney/lawyer.

It's impossible to escape side effects when it comes to medication. But, as a Vioxx attorney/lawyer will tell you, it's not legal for a drug company to fail to list such side effects, and that's just what Merck did. So if you have taken Vioxx and suspect you've endured serious side effects as a result, you owe it yourself to talk to a Vioxx attorney/lawyer today.