Legal•Info

Kansas Vioxx Lawyer

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

Vioxx has been linked in numerous studies to the direct relationship between chronic use and the increased chance of having a stroke, blood clot or heart attack. Over thirty-thousand users of Vioxx have died over the years due to a medical illness related to their Vioxx use. There has never been a recall of a pharmaceutical product with the same magnitude of Vioxx, which was manufactured by the company Merck. Vioxx, also known as Rofecoxib, promised to alleviate serious pain caused by arthritis and menstruation, without the side effects commonly associated with other drugs of its kind. Gastric problems plagued those who were prescribed other medicines for arthritis pain, but with Vioxx, that wasn't the case, as it was a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID).

Vioxx was launched in 1999 through an intense advertising campaign led by Merck and Company, the creators of the drug. The advertising campaign used celebrity endorsers such as Olympic figure skater, Dorothy Hamill, who supposedly claimed that Vioxx allowed her to skate again. Sid Wolfe, physician and director of the Health Research Group, was another endorser for Vioxx. He claimed that the drug was safe to use. One of the reasons that Merck came under such scrutiny is because of their masterful public relations initiative and aggressive marketing. It is estimated that they spent close to $500 million on promotional tactics and direct consumer advertising.

Unfortunately, it is believed that Merck knew about the dangers of fatality, and decided to cover up the clinical findings. Merck raked in 2.5 billion in sales in more than 80 countries. There is still debate about whether or not Merck was intentionally negligent about its drug's safety and, as more information has been revealed, there may be more evidence that the drug company misled the medical community and its patients. Particularly suspicious is the FDA's initial approval of Vioxx back in 1999.

Before Vioxx was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the University of Pennsylvania conducted a research study that was aimed at the decrease in stomach problems. However, it also proved there was a close link between the use of Vioxx and an increased risk of having a heart attack. The drug was still allowed to be stocked on pharmacy shelves and used by the public.

In 2000, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that Vioxx users were suffering from strokes and heart attacks. The drug remained on the market until Merck and Company conducted their own study. Their study proved that after only eighteen months of Vioxx use, several users were suffering from a combination of three things: heart attack, blood clots and stroke. On September 30, 2004, Vioxx was finally pulled voluntarily from the shelves in a worldwide recall. By this time, over two million prescriptions had been written for Vioxx use in the United States.

Both Merck and Company and the Food and Drug Administration were warned about the harmful side effects associated with the use of Vioxx. Vioxx was not the miracle many claimed it to be, but instead it was causing people to lose their lives worldwide. Thousands of people have died due to a blind eye and medical negligence. If you are a resident of the state of Kansas and have suffered a medical complication due to the use of Vioxx, then contact an attorney today. An attorney will help you through this difficult time. It is unfortunate that a pharmaceutical company, a company that is designed to help people, would cause so much harm to so many people. If you have suffered because of your use of Vioxx, please do not hesitate to contact a Kansas attorney. An attorney can explain your rights and tell you if you are owed any monetary compensation.