P.I.S.S.D. -- Personal Injury, Social Security Disability. Dallas Texas Lawyers

Texas Sues Merck Over Vioxx

02:33 PM CDT on Thursday, June 30, 2005

Associated Press

AUSTIN — The state of Texas sued one of the nation's largest drug companies Thursday, alleging Merck & Co. misrepresented the safety of the painkiller Vioxx.

State Attorney General Greg Abbott said Merck pushed to have Vioxx on the state's list of approved medicine covered under Medicaid. The lawsuit seeks $168 million and says the company willfully misrepresented its studies and physicians' concerns that the drug may increase the risk of heart problems and strokes.

“This is a prime example of a company's drive for profit steamrolling its duty to be safe,” said Abbott, adding that Texas was the first state to sue Merck for Vioxx prescriptions covered by Medicaid.

Officials at Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck didn't immediately respond when asked for comment Thursday.

Merck began marketing Vioxx in 1999 after brief clinical trials but voluntarily withdrew the drug in September when research showed that patients who took it for a year and a half or more doubled their risk for heart attack and stroke.

Abbott's office said Texas pharmacists filled more than 700,000 Vioxx prescriptions for 178,000 patients under the Medicaid program at a cost of $56 million. State law allows Abbott to seek triple damages for acts of fraud.

The lawsuit, filed in Travis County district court, does not include Texans who received Vioxx through private health insurance plans, and the state — not individuals — will collect any judgment, Abbott said.

The state alleges Merck violated the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act.

“The people of Texas have been cheated and defrauded by Merck,” Abbott said.

Exceptions to the Hearsay Rule

For those lawyers who need a little Continuing Legal Education credit, here's a very brief seminar on exceptions to the hearsay rule. Thank you to Lisa Solomon for discovering this hilarious jewel.

Link of the Day - Statutes of Limitation

Lawyers who represent injury victims frequently need to know the Statute of Limitations in a state other than their own. Pennsylvania attorney Edgar Snyder has a good list of state Statutes on his Web site.

Link of the Day - Texas Lemon Law

Consumer rights in Texas are being weakened every two years, when the Legislature meets, and frequently at other times in the cases handed down by the Texas Supreme Court. One of the laws that has not been revoked yet is the Texas Lemon Law. This law gives buyers of new automobiles recourse in certain specific circumstances.

Link of the Day - ATLA

Any lawyer who regularly represents injured or disabled people should be a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, ATLA. This is the largest plaintiff's bar association in the world, and works very hard to support consumer rights in the United States, as well as to support the rights of trial lawyers.

Link of the Day - NAMI

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, NAMI, is a nonprofit, grassroots, self-help, support and advocacy organization of consumers, families, and friends of people with severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic and other severe anxiety disorders, autism and pervasive developmental disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and other severe and persistent mental illnesses that affect the brain.

Link of the Day - Americans With Disabilities Act

The Americans With Disabilities Act touches us in many ways. For instance, see my earlier post on an article I wrote regarding ways solo and small firm lawyers must alter their offices to accommodate the Act. The preceding link is to the official Web site for the Act.

If you practice law, the Act does apply to you. You should read the Act or read my article, and take the appropriate steps before you get a claim filed against you.

Link of the Day - Dallas District Court Rules

A simple site that lists the local rules of the civil district courts of Dallas County, Texas.

Link of the Day - Texas Association of Counties

The Texas Association of Counties has a nifty map that links to all the official county Web Sites in Texas.

Eminent Domain Ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today 5-4 that local governments may exercise the right of eminent domain for the purpose of private development that will bring more tax money to the government than the homes that will be destroyed.

The case is Kelo et al v. City of New London, 04-108.

I don't like this decision at all. My clients are the people living in the homes in poorer parts of town, where this development will probably occur. The houses may be small and cheap, but they are still homes to my clients.

Knowing how politics works, all it will take is some large campaign contributions from real estate developers, and my clients will be booted out of their homes.

On the bright side, there will be a lot more work now for condemnation lawyers...