LANSING – With today's AP report that Merck & Co. will pay $4.85 billion to settle thousands of
lawsuits over the painkiller Vioxx in one of the largest civil cases ever, House Democrats slammed Senate Majority
Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester Hills) for sitting on packages spearheaded by the House aimed at protecting Michigan
residents who have been harmed or killed by these dangerous drugs.
"Michigan is the only state in the nation that
gives pharmaceutical companies a free ride when their products harm or kill, and the Senate has absolutely failed to
reverse these atrocities," said State Representative Mike
Simpson (D-Jackson), who was the lead sponsor of the package of bills introduced in February to repeal
Michigan's laws granting the drug industry absolute
immunity. "It is shameful Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop has done nothing with our plan aimed at protecting the
health and safety of Michigan's residents. Too many good
people in Michigan have lost loved ones or are currently ill who were prescribed Vioxx, and now they are going to be
denied access to justice and the nearly $5 billion Merck has agreed to pay out due to the Senate's disappointing
inaction."
Merck faced about 26,600 lawsuits representing 47,000 plaintiffs throughout the
United States, plus about 265
potential class action cases, filed by people or family members who claimed the drug proved fatal or injured its users.
The agreement covers cases filed in federal and state courts, and the payouts will vary, depending on injuries and the
length of time that Vioxx was taken, according to a Nov. 9 AP report.
However, Michigan residents will not have an
opportunity to file claims due to the Senate's failure to act on a package of bills that passed the House last
February. The House Democratic plan would end the total immunity enjoyed by the big drug companies in
Michigan and allow consumers to hold big drug companies
accountable when dangerous drugs such as Vioxx harm or kill.
