Fosamax Class Action Lawsuit

If you’ve found this page because you’re curious about a Fosamax class action lawsuit (or, simply, class action), the Rottenstein Law Group can help you understand why a class action is probably not what you’re looking for.

Watch Part 1 (Fosamax Femur Fractures) here
Watch Part 3 (Fosamax Settlement) here

A class action, generally speaking, is a court case in which a large number of people join together to sue another person or company, or in which a large group of people or companies are being sued. In order to form a class, all of the plaintiffs in a class action must have suffered the same type of injury. Usually, a class action is filed by one (or a few) named plaintiff(s), who then files a motion to certify a class of people with the same injury.

In the area of personal injury, however, class action is unlikely to get injured parties meaningful compensation, mainly because the remedy in a class action is almost always a judgment requiring the defendant to change its practices going forward. If the plaintiffs receive anything, it is likely to be a nominal award, often a “coupon” for more of the defendant’s products or services. Class actions are therefore much more appropriate for cases involving stock fraud or phone bill overcharges, for instance, than cases involving physical harm, not to mention pain and suffering.

Fosamax Class Action Lawsuit Or Mass Tort Litigation?

If you’ve been harmed by Fosamax, what you’re probably interested in is what’s known as “mass tort litigation,” in which many victims of a single actor’s behavior sue—each individually (although there are mechanisms for consolidating much of the common pretrial procedures to minimize duplication of efforts and inefficiency). A plaintiff who sues a drug’s manufacturer alleging that the drug caused him or her injury and prevails can receive substantial compensation in the form of an award after trial or an out-of-court settlement.

There is currently no Fosamax class action lawsuit. In April 2006, plaintiffs in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana sought federal court certification of a class of Fosamax users who had developed osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), but in January 2008 the motion to certify the class was denied. Those who wished to sue Merck, manufacturer of Fosamax, had to proceed individually. (Several of those ONJ lawsuits have already gone to trial, and although Merck has prevailed in four of the first five, the results of these so-called “bellwether” trials should not discourage any injured person from speaking to a lawyer about bringing a suit.)

Similarly, those who now claim that Fosamax has caused them to suffer fractures of the femur or other bones are suing Merck individually—seeking not to change the practices of Merck but rather to recover monetary relief for the substantial harms they have suffered personally. Because of the large number of plaintiffs alleging harm in each case, both Fosamax ONJ and Fosamax femur fracture cases may be considered “mass torts” (but not class actions).

Because the lawyers of the Rottenstein Law Group have many years of experience with mass torts and products liability litigation generally, we can make the process of demanding compensation from a blameworthy manufacturer even more efficient. In this way, the knowledge, experience, and preparation of RLG’s lawyers will make seeking compensation for your pain as painless as possible. For more information about Fosamax lawsuits, click here to download a free brochure.