Fosamax Lawsuit Lawyers Given Leadership Roles By Judge
Several Fosamax lawyers have been appointed to serve as leaders in the recently formed multidistrict litigation (MDL) on Fosamax femur fracture lawsuits by US District Judge Garret E. Brown, Jr. Brown was appointed as the presiding judge by the US Judicial Panel On Multidistrict Litigation over all federal Fosamax femur fracture lawsuits last May. Those who claimed to have been affected by Fosamax must be aware that Not taking Fosamax correctly could damage your lawsuit against Merck.
The appointed attorneys will perform certain actions during the coordinated litigation that will benefit all plaintiffs who have filed a lawsuit over a fractured femur from prolonged Fosamax intake. Fosamax (alendronate sodium) which belongs to a group of drug called Bisphosphonate is a popular osteoporosis medication manufactured by Merck & Co. since 1995. Designed to strengthen the bones, recent studies, however, have suggested that long-term use of Fosamax and other Bisphosphonates might lead to severe side effects such as femur fractures, osteonecrosis, musculoskeletal pain and esophageal cancer despite its design to strengthen the bones.
If they experience groin pain which may occur several weeks before a complete fracture while using Fosamax, users are warned to seek medical attention as prompted by studies. All lawsuits involved in the MDL alleged that side effects of Fosamax increase the risk of atypical femur fractures, which can occur with little or no trauma at all. According to the plaintiffs, Merck allegedly failed to properly research the medication or adequately warn consumers.
Since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required new warnings about the risk of Fosamax thigh bone fractures in October 2010, a growing number of Fosamax lawyers throughout the United States have been reviewing and filing lawsuits since then on behalf of individuals who suffered a sudden femur fracture while taking the medication. When the MDL was formed, 36 Fosamax fracture lawsuits were pending in federal district courts throughout the United States. Since then, 24 additional cases have been transferred to the MDL and in addition, a larger number of cases have been filed in the state court in New Jersey and other states throughout the United States.
This MDL, however, will have no impact on Fosamax lawsuits over jaw problems, known as osteonecrosis of the jaw, as the latter will remain centralized as part of a different MDL in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, before U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan. As part of an MDL that was established in August 2006, more than 900 Fosamax jaw lawsuits were consolidated in New York. It was determined that the evidence of general causation leading to femur fractures would likely differ substantially from cases dealing with jaw bone damage thus the Fosamax fracture lawsuits were excluded from this MDL.