The Lanier Law Firm Announces $4.85 Billion National Vioxx Settlement With Merck & Co. Inc.

HOUSTON, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorneys from The Lanier Law Firm are announcing a nationwide settlement agreement with pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. Inc. that should resolve at least 85% of the personal injury lawsuits in the U.S. over Vioxx, the company's controversial pain medication.

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"This was simply the right thing to do, and we're grateful that the people at Merck recognized that it was the right thing to do," says Houston attorney Mark Lanier, founder of The Lanier Law Firm and lead counsel in the nation's first Vioxx trial. "A lot of lawyers worked hard to get this settlement, which will help thousands of our clients and every other injured Vioxx patient in the United States."

Mr. Lanier has been a national leader in Vioxx litigation since winning a $253 million verdict in the country's first Vioxx lawsuit in August 2005. That case -- decided in favor of the wife of a former marathon runner who died after taking Vioxx for only eight months -- stands as the largest Vioxx verdict in history.

Today's settlement with Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck marks the end of a series of legal battles that began after the company withdrew Vioxx from store shelves in September 2004. Vioxx was pulled from the market after a study revealed that users of the drug were more susceptible to heart attacks and strokes than people using other pain medications.

To interview Mr. Lanier about the Vioxx settlement, please contact Bruce Vincent at 800-559-4534, cell 214-728-6747 or bruce@legalpr.com.