Legal•Info

North Dakota Vioxx Lawyer

Call (888) 471-5989 to speak with a personal injury attorney.

The state of North Dakota has a unique distinction in that it is one of only 12 states in the US to have an elderly population make up 14 percent of the total state population. With these numbers, there is a strong chance that North Dakota has many residents who took the drug Vioxx while it was still available to the general public. Vioxx was recalled by the FDA and pulled off the shelves by Merck, the company who manufactured it, only after many lawsuits were filed by concerned parties who felt that they were wronged by Merck, and lawsuits continue to be filed every day around the country.

If you feel that your health was in any way damaged by taking Vioxx, or if the health of your spouse or loved one was harmed, you should consider contacting an attorney who specializes in corporate negligence cases right away. If the judge agrees that you were harmed or wronged by Vioxx or Merck, you may be able to recover damages for medical expenses, funeral costs or even punitive damages. Vioxx has reportedly been the cause of more than 30,000 deaths since it was first introduced in 1999. Contact a lawyer today if you took Vioxx and believe it harmed your health or the health of someone you love.

Vioxx was hailed from the beginning as a miracle drug that could provide relief from the pain that comes from chronic arthritis. Unlike many other common painkillers, Vioxx seemed to have a special ability to target arthritis pain and stop it from occurring without any major side effects. It is for this reason that Vioxx exploded in popularity, especially among the elderly. In it's first week on the market, Vioxx was supplied to more than 11,000 pharmacies. The pharmacies, in turn, filled thousands of prescriptions with the drug. In the year 2003 alone, the drug giant Merck reported a 2.3 billion dollar revenue from Vioxx alone.

As early as 2000, there were scattered reports from around the country regarding Vioxx usage. There seemed to be a strange connection between people who were taking Vioxx and otherwise healthy people who were having heart attacks and strokes. At first, most people, including some doctors, dismissed it as elderly people dying of natural causes, and they looked the other way. But as time went on, the evidence became overwhelming. As more and more cases of death and injury linked to Vioxx usage surfaced, the FDA was alerted to the situation and launched a three-year long investigation into the drug and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on the market.
Additional internal studies performed by Merck's own scientists showed a strong connection between serious health risks and long-term Vioxx use. By 2004, lawsuits began pile up for Merck, and the billions of dollars in profit from Vioxx quickly went into the hands of the general public.

During the course of this investigation and subsequent lawsuits, it was found that Merck failed to disclose the harmful effects that Vioxx could have on people. Evidence also suggests that they tried to keep doctors and other medical professionals from telling their patients about what could happen to them. For the people who have suffered the ill effects of Vioxx, this news was startling and undoubtedly caused a lot of anger across the country.

Merck has suffered substantial losses due to the side effects of Vioxx, but the only way the average American can strike back against a corporation like Merck is to visit their lawyer to see if they have a viable case. Cases like these have sparked a rise in areas of law that deal exclusively with corporate negligence and consumer fraud, so there is likely to be a lawyer or attorney in North Dakota who is familiar with Vioxx. Get in contact with a local North Dakota lawyer who is experienced with lawsuits and litigation regarding defective pharmaceuticals and similar cases. There are still ongoing lawsuits against Merck, even years later. Get the peace of mind and compensation you deserve, and contact a North Dakota Vioxx lawyer attorney today.