Telegraph | Money | Thousands of Britons to sue Merck — My solution to all this is to make users sign a waiver to even get the drug. Hey, it works with software!
I’m finding this story to be not unlike the “just deserts” the record industry received for being bad corporate neighbors. Overlooked in all this is the bad acting the drug companies AS A GROUP have done to screw the American public when the public wanted to get the same deal on drugs that the Canadians get. Seriously, this is what this is really about. Now everyone will pile on.
The drug companies have to look within and figure out why they are hated like scum despite the fact that they cure disease or alleviate pain with their products.
I personally think that this situation is going to wreck the company — bankrupt them.
While this news story seems like oh such a surprise to the Merck officials who cannot understand it. It was a “weak case!” Overlooked in this is the fact that the Merck CEO QUIT back in May over a Federal probe as cited here.
I would hope that he dumped all his holdings in the meantime as is living large someplace sunny.
Merck & Co.’s longtime leader Raymond V. Gilmartin abruptly resigned yesterday on the same day congressional investigators released a slew of documents detailing how the company continued to aggressively promote its arthritis drug Vioxx after it knew of potentially serious safety concerns.
Now this is the result of such fine upstanding behavior:
Merck, the US pharmaceuticals giant, is facing potential legal action from thousands of British patients after a US jury found it negligent in the death of a man who took its painkiller Vioxx.
Lawyers representing more than 150 potential claimants in the UK are set to file cases against the drugs company in the US in the next few weeks.
Merck logo
Merck has set aside $675m to fight Vioxx legal casesMore than 4,000 cases have already been filed by US claimants and Merck could be forced to pay out as much as $18bn over 10 years as a result of lawsuits linked to Vioxx.
There will be no end to it.
And exactly how did Sarbanes-Oxley stop this catastrophe? (not to change the subject..but)
“I personally think that this situation is going to wreck the company — bankrupt them. ”
No way! You can’t imagine the vast LAKES of money these guys have! They can settle everything, pay BILLIONS and still go on as if nothing happened!
As for Sarbanes Oxley… HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!
You can’t legislate moral into businessmen… You must legislate a way to kick out immoral ones and keep’em out, and punish companies that keep on hiring them – just to get the better bottom line, no matter what the cost! You must blacklist those people, make them wear tags on the street so that everyone can spit on them!
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/96/open_boss.html is an interesting article about these psychopaths.
“I personally think that this situation is going to wreck the company — bankrupt them. ”
Never happen. They will either buy a special bill from the Republican Congress or they will find some way to transfer the burden to the taxpayer.
Face it – guys like Merck own themselves a government, and it would be foolish of them not to get their money’s worth (and more).
IMO, the worst problem here and in many big corporations is how the executives run this companies with such corrupt policies and short term focus that make them millions in stock, compensation and golden parachutes then they resign/retire and their existing deals are untouchable after the shit hits the fan.
Somehow, these questionable and illegal procedures need to have a corrosive financial effect on the execs who inspired them.
This also goes for all the corporate execs who made hollow pension promises to workers to satiate them while underfunding the promise. Why in the hell are taxpayers put under the gun for failing companies who want to absolve themselves of pension responsibilities while the execs who made the promises years ago are living high on their golden parachutes that they’re promised by the company. Aren’t these lying scumbags the ultimate cause of the problem (not including the corrupt legislature who allows companies to underfund these promises by issuing a “promise to pay”)? They make the company “look” more profitable only to reap rewards for what is essentially stealing “tommorrow’s” profits to pay for a high balance sheet today. I think those pensioners should suffer for their irresponsibility in not forcing the company to make those guaranteed payments. Those damn Republicans love welfare when it comes to bailing out business…Hypocrits!
the irony is the ones suing will only get a t-shirt and a bottle of painkillers while the lawyers get all the money…