A New York Strategy in Pharmaceutical Drug Litigation

New York pharmaceutical drug litigation is needed because companies don't recall certain drugs because they have a lot invested in the drugs and even more money to make from them. However, pharmaceutical companies in New York, and elsewhere, have a legal obligation to ensure their products are safe, so pharmaceutical drug litigation in New York and other jurisdictions are taking a proactive approach for possible victims.

The idea of medical monitoring was originally developed for environmental exposure to toxic chemicals, which involved involuntary exposure to a chemical the claimant did not suspect was in their environment. However, the notion has been applied to pharmaceutical drug litigation now, with claimants in New York drug litigation alleging the drug is the toxic substance, the voluntary ingestion through a prescription of the drug is the exposure, and the potential future side effects of the drug are the increased risks of disease. Therefore, New York drug litigation cases involve different drugs, where claimants alleged their past prescription medications have put them at an increased risk of future injury or disease.

Example: Vioxx was pulled from the market by Merck after research indicated that it could double a patient’s risk of heart attacks and strokes. Before the Vioxx recall, the arthritis drug had been one of Merck’s biggest selling drugs. The recall came after a Food & Drug Administration analysis of patients using Vioxx linked the defective drug to more than 27,000 heart attacks or sudden cardiac deaths in the U.S. from 1999 through 2003.

Recently, New Jersey residents Robbie Traylor and Joseph Murray have asked the New Jersey Supreme Court to certify class action pharmaceutical drug litigation for their Vioxx patient lawsuit, which seeks to have Merck pay for their medical monitoring. Both took Vioxx for years, but are not exhibiting heart symptoms right now. If certified a class action, the patient lawsuit would cover about 233,000 New Jersey Vioxx users. According to the plaintiff’s attorneys, it is likely that about 1,800 of the 233,000 Vioxx users will discover that they suffered heart damage as the result of Vioxx—and will be thankful for the pharmaceutical drug litigation.

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