Vioxx recall cases outside the United States

The whole Vioxx recall controversy has so far been focused on the United States. With hearings in Congress and the scandal over mistreatment of Dr. David Graham by the FDA, there has been a lot of press coverage in recent years. Still many experts believe that with tens of thousands of people dead, unaffected Americans have largely ignored the tragedy in a country where sanctity of life is supposedly more important. To the best of our knowledge, the church leaders who are literally ready to do anything to preserve life and the politicians who get elected on the basis of their attitude towards abortion have been quiet over the issue. Looks as if murder and death penalty do not count when sanctity of life is concerned.

In countries outside the United States, things are just starting to move with regards to Vioxx recall. There are reports that Vioxx victims in Australia and UK are planning to sue Merck. It is expected that victims in other developed nations will act soon. The problem is with poor countries like India where recordkeeping is non-existent in the healthcare sector. Most doctors do not keep a record of drugs prescribed to a patient or contact information of a patient. Patients often switch doctors and it is, therefore, almost impossible to provide them with information about Vioxx recall. The governments in these poor countries do not track deaths related to drugs. It is quite clear then that it will be impossible to come up with a good estimate of deaths caused by Vioxx.

The other challenge in many countries is the lack of legal infrastructure to sue the drugmakers. While many American law firms (some have offices in other countries or alliances with local law firms) are aggressively pursuing Vioxx victims overseas, many victims may have to rely on local Vioxx attorneys.

We have put together a helpful guide on finding a Vioxx lawyer if you live overseas, and remember that since you are not in the United States, you will need to work a little harder to get all the information that you need to understand your legal options.