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MADISON - ST. CLAIR RECORD

Thursday, March 28, 2024

More class action suits filed against Merck

When pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. removed its arthritis pain medication Vioxx from the market last week for safety reasons, it didn't take long for plaintiff attorneys and their clients to rapidly respond.

A class action suit brought against Merck Tuesday by Myrna Amisch of Granite City brings the total to three that have been filed this week in Madison County Circuit Court.

Represented by the Edwardsville firm Goldenberg, Miller, Heller & Antognoli, Amisch claims, as have other plaintiffs, the drug maker deceived consumers that Vioxx was a superior product over others on the market and that it hid the drug's dangerous side effects.

"The plaintiff would not have purchased Vioxx had they known of the increased risks of hypertension, stroke and/or myocardial infarcts," Amisch's complaint states.

The suit seeks to recover no more than $75,000 minus costs and interest.

Earlier this week, Diana Caruso of Pontoon Beach and Patricia Bilbrey of Glen Carbon filed similar class action suits in Madison County. (See related story).

Caruso is represented by the St. Louis law firm Marker Armstrong.

Other suits have been filed across the country, one Monday in Cook County Circuit Court by attorneys representing the estimated 300,000 people in Illinois who took the pain medication.

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