Jaw death, jaw decay, jaw necrosis, jaw bone loss, and
dead jaw are all the same heinous side effect and the biggest problem resulting
from taking Fosamax and osteoporosis related medications.
Jaw death or the medical term, osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), has generated a
law suit against the manufacturers of Fosamax because the victim alleges that
Merck & Co., failed to alert doctors and patients of Fosamax's potentially
dangerous side effects for dead jaw.
Merck is already facing lawsuits over its pain reliever Vioxx.
According to a lawsuit filed April 2006, Fosamax is defective because it can
cause osteonecrosis of the jaw or death of the jaw bone. The lawsuit seeks class
action status.
In a statement, Merck said that 17,000 patients participated in the clinical
trials and there were no reports of dead jaw. However, Merck revealed there have
been reports of patients taking Fosamax who developed jaw death but that doesn't
necessarily mean Fosamax caused it.
The lawsuit further alleges that in August 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) asked Merck to add a warning to Fosamax's label and that
Merck has yet to comply with the request.
Merck counters that it received a request from the FDA to update the label with
information about the condition in January 2005. Merck says that by July 2005,
the requested information regarding the jaw death problem was on the label. But
the victim who filed the lawsuit said the information in the label isn't as
adequate a warning as it should be.
Are you eligible to join the class action suit against Merck and Fosamax?
Contact an expert Fosamax lawyer today.
View More Fosamax lawsuit Information