Maryland Lawyers Focus on Fosamax
A number of personal injury lawyers in Maryland are focusing on Fosamax® (Alendronate Sodium), a drug manufactured by Merck that is commonly used to treat patients with osteoporosis and Paget's disease. The drug is prescribed to strengthen the bones and prevent fractures in patients who have osteoporosis or who are otherwise at risk for bone fractures and other bone related conditions. For many, Fosamax has been a great drug. Paradoxically, these drugs can cause just the opposite effect. Accordingly, Fosamax and other bisphosphonates such as Aredia®, Zometa®, Actonel® and Boniva®, have drawn great interest from personal injury lawyers in Maryland and around the country. These drugs have been linked to Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (also called “ONJ,” “Dead Jaw” or “Jaw Death”). ONJ involves the breakdown or death of the jawbone, frequently leading to serious infection or fractures. Because Fosamax is the largest seller it has drawn the most interest from lawyers.
Unfortunately, many patients who take Fosamax, or a similar drug, have done so for years because the medication needs to be taken regularly to be continually efficacious. Many “Fosamax lawyers” think Fosamax is the next great mass tort wave in Maryland, and accordingly, many Baltimore attorneys are gearing up to recruit Fosamax victims. Our lawyers have been looking at Fosamax cases in recent months. I am not sure that Fosamax will be the next great mass tort, but for the selected number of people who appear to have suffered substantial injuries, these cases will be significant. My guess is that Fosamax will one day be an MDL class action. However, it is hard for Fosamax lawyers to gauge the full extent of the side effects of Fosamax because Fosamax’s half life is approximately 10 years. In other words, Fosamax users will still have half of the Fosamax that they have taken in their body 10 years after they have stopped taking the drug. Putting this in some context, the half life of Zoloft® is 26 hours. That makes Fosamax’s half life approximately 3500 times that of Zoloft. The practical effect of this is that Fosamax lawyers cannot predict the scope of the Fosamax problem because, with such a long half life, it remains to be seen how much damage Fosamax will cause.
What is interesting is that if you Google “Fosamax”, in the paid for advertising, you first get Merck’s Fosamax advertisement encouraging people to use Fosamax. The second listed add is a Maryland personal injury lawyer’s advertisement for Fosamax. Merck’s only mention in their advertisement of the side effect that has started this firestorm is on its list of “Selected Cautionary Information about FOSAMAX and FOSAMAX PLUS.” On this list is an advisory to Fosamax users: if “you develop severe bone, joint, and/or muscle pain at any time, contact your doctor.” It seems as though Fosamax users are contacting their doctor … and a lawyer.
