Fosamax Trial in New York Results in Hung Jury
The first of about 900 Fosamax lawsuits to be presented to a jury has ended in a mistrial after the jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict over whether the drug caused the plaintiff’s painful jaw injury, known as osteonecrosis of the jaw.
Following a three-week Fosamax trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, the case was submitted to the jury on September 2nd. When deliberations resumed after the Labor Day holiday weekend, several notes were passed to the judge indicating that jurors who sided with the plaintiff were being intimidated, threatened and insulted. Reports suggest that yelling was frequently heard in the hallway outside of the jury room, and one juror indicated that a chair was thrown.
After a “cooling-off” period on Thursday failed to lead any jurors to change their position, a mistrial was granted on Friday afternoon.
As would be expected, Merck has touted it as a victory that the Plaintiff was unable to convince all of the jurors that the she suffered jaw necrosis from Fosamax. However, the case will likely be rescheduled for a new trial next spring. In addition, Tim O’Brien, who was the attorney representing the plaintiff at trial, suggested that the split among the jurors may actually be more of a favorable forecast for plaintiffs in other cases.
The Fosamax trial was the first of more than 900 lawsuits against Merck over Fosamax jaw necrosis, and was selected as one of three “bellwether” trials that would help gauge how jurors would respond to certain evidence. However, this first case involved a plaintiff who developed ONJ no later than September 2003, and most of the damaging evidence about how Merck ignored the Fosamax jaw problems and failed to follow FDA recommendations occurred after that date.
U.S. District Judge John Keenan, who is presiding over the pretrial litigation for all of the Fosamax lawsuits pending in federal court, ruled before trial that the plaintiff in this first case would not be able to introduce evidence involving Merck’s actions after the plaintiff had already developed the jaw problems. However, most of the other Fosamax trials involve individuals who were diagnosed later, which will likely make those plaintiffs’ cases stronger.
FOSAMAX ATTORNEYS
The Fosamax attorneys at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. represent women throughout the United States who have been diagnosed with osteonecrosis of the jaw after using the popular osteoporosis drug. The second and third “bellwether” Fosamax trials are currently scheduled for January and April 2010.
Although the early trials in the Fosamax litigation are already underway, our attorneys are continuing to review potential claims for individuals who have been diagnosed with ONJ or experienced symptoms, such as:
- jaw pain
- infection of the gums or jaw infection
- jaw swelling
- loosening of the teeth
- tooth ache
- poor healing gums
- numbness or a feeling of heaviness in the jaw (“Numb Jaw” or “Heavy Jaw”)
- exposed jawbone and drainage
Fosamax has a very long half-life, and since many users took the drug over a number of years, the consequence of Merck’s failure to warn continues to result in new cases. To review a potential Fosamax lawsuit for yourself, a friend or family member, request a free consultation.
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