Beasley Allen settles Vioxx suits for $4.85 billion

Merck & Co. announced Friday that it will pay $4.85 billion to settle as claims by as many as 47,000 groups of plaintiffs over injuries linked to its blockbuster Vioxx painkiller.

Alabama Voices: Corporate Crimes

So long as I am attorney general, my pledge to every citizen is the same: No matter how big and rich the bully may be and whether he uses a knife or a complicated Medicaid reimbursement plan as his weapon, the innocent have nothing to fear and the guilty need only fear that justice will be done.

 

Unum Group reverses 42 percent of reviewed claims

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - In a forced self-review, the Unum Group agreed to fully or partly reverse 42 percent of previously denied disability claims and paid out $676 million in additional benefits.

Court clears way for drug company trial

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled Friday that more than one pharmaceutical company can be tried at the same time in the state's lawsuit accusing more than 70 drug companies of fraud in over­charging the state's Medicaid pro­gram.

Vioxx criticism may tarnish Merck but settlement safe

Renewed criticism of Merck & Co's handling of its withdrawn pain drug Vioxx may further tarnish the drugmaker's image but is not about to scuttle its multibillion-dollar deal to settle thousands of personal injury lawsuits brought by former Vioxx users.

Judge OKs subpoenas in Countrywide probe

A federal judge ruled the Justice Department can subpoena documents and question Countrywide Financial Corp. executives under oath to determine whether the lender abused borrowers and the bankruptcy-court process.

Congress: Vytorin Makers Held Bad News

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Allegations from Congress that drug makers Schering-Plough Corp. and Merck & Co. hid negative research results to boost sales have cast a shadow over the companies' futures.

Jury Awards $226,000 in Mesothelioma Civil Suit

An Indiana County jury this week awarded $226,000 to the family of a man who had been exposed to asbestos while he worked at the Fisher Scientific plant along Indian Springs Road in White Township.

John Ritter doctors cleared in wrongful death lawsuit

It was reported today (March 14, 2008) that two doctors accused of negligence in the death of beloved actor John Ritter have been cleared of all charges by a Glendale, Calif., jury. The physicians, a cardiologist and a radiologist, were under fire in the diagnosis and treatment of the actor, who died of a torn aorta in 2003.

Mesothelioma victim wins $20 million verdict

SAN FRANCISCO-A Dallas, Texas-based law firm today announced a $20 million civil verdict in an asbestos lawsuit on behalf of Joan Mahoney, 69-year-old victim of mesothelioma, a painful and debilitating form of cancer affecting the lining of the lungs, and Daniel Mahoney, her husband of 42 years.