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 is presiding over all federal Fosamax femur fracture lawsuits as ordered by the US Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation 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.
During the coordinated litigation, the appointed attorneys will perform certain actions 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. Although it was designed to strengthen the bones, recent studies 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.
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. As alleged by all lawsuits involved in the MDL, side effects of Fosamax increase the risk of atypical femur fractures, which can occur with little or no trauma at all. Merck allegedly failed to properly research the medication or adequately warn consumers, claimed the plaintiffs.
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. Some 36 Fosamax fracture lawsuits were pending in federal district courts throughout the United States during the time the MDL was formed. Since then a larger number of cases have been filed in the state court in New Jersey and other states throughout the United States while some 24 additional cases since then have been transferred to the MDL.
The MDL on
Fosamax lawsuit over jaw problems known as osteonecrosis of the jaw, will not be affected by this MDL as the former 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. More than 900 Fosamax jaw lawsuits were consolidated in New York and transferred under the MDL that was established in August of 2006. Fosamax fracture lawsuits were excluded from this MDL because it was determined that the evidence of general causation leading to femur fractures would likely differ substantially from cases dealing with jaw bone damage.
