EDINBURG, Texas, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The following press release is
being issued by the Law Office of Ricardo A. Garcia:
A South Texas woman who had to undergo open-heart surgery after using the
drug Vioxx for less than a year to treat her arthritis pain has sued Merck &
Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) pharmaceutical company in district court here.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday by Olga Sanchez, 67, of Pharr, is among the
first in Texas of what is expected to be a torrent of patient lawsuits over
Merck's failure to warn consumers that the popular "super aspirin" causes a
four- to five-fold increase in heart attacks.
Merck pulled Vioxx from store shelves worldwide on Sept. 30.
"Merck pharmaceutical company aggressively marketed this drug directly to
consumers knowing it carried significant health risks. In doing so, Merck
actively deceived consumers, which is a violation of Texas law," said Ricardo
Garcia, Sanchez's attorney.
Merck has said that cardiac problems in its test groups surfaced only
after 18 months of use. However, Garcia pointed out that Mrs. Sanchez had
been using the drug less than a year.
"I believe we will be seeing more of this across the country as Vioxx
users become aware of problems with this drug," Garcia said.
Merck has known since 2000 as the result of one its own clinical trials
that Vioxx carries a four- to five-fold risk of causing high blood pressure
and heart attacks in users. Researchers have warned the risk may be even
higher because the clinical trial did not involve any patients already
suffering from heart disease. As a result, many health insurers have refused
to cover the drug, and many doctors, researchers and consumer watchdogs have
openly warned against taking the drug.
The lawsuit accuses Merck of negligence for failure to warn consumers
about potential risks or to adequately test the drug, knowingly distributing a
defective product, misrepresenting or actively concealing known risks from the
public, and violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Texas
Food, Drug, Alcohol and Cosmetic Act.
Two doctors also are included as defendants in the lawsuit: Dario Arango,
M.C., and Emery L. Suderman, D.O.
More information is available at http://www.ragarcialaw.com .
CONTACT:
Mike Kelly
512-327-6788
SOURCE Law Office of Ricardo A. Garcia
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Related links:
http://www.ragarcialaw.com
CONTACT:
Mike Kelly, +1-512-327-6788, for Law Office
of Ricardo A. Garcia
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