More plaintiffs may be added to Vioxx settlement

NEW ORLEANS Merck may have to add to the Vioxx settlement at least 350 more people who claimed they were affected negatively by the painkiller. Approximately 350 Florida plaintiffs want to join in the huge settlement that closed Nov. 9, 2007, which the company reached with a much larger group of plaintiffs, claiming state law permits them to file claims until October. But neither the drug company nor the other plaintiffs’ lawyers want the case reopened.

In many states, plaintiffs had three years after Merck pulled the drug off the market to file claims, but a Florida rule gives plaintiffs four years to file, according to Glenn Mayfield, one of the attorneys representing the Florida plaintiffs. Potential plaintiffs in such states as Maine and Missouri may have even longer to file, in some cases up to six years, he added.

The Florida plaintiffs have a tentative date of Feb. 21 for a hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, which is overseeing the Vioxx settlement.