More Fosamax Injury Lawsuits Filed in California

Hundreds of Fosamax injury lawsuits are pending across the nation – and that number is steadily rising with 30 more lawsuits recently filed in California. Similar to the pending lawsuits nationwide, the California lawsuits allege that manufacturers failed to warn consumers about the increased risks of ONJ (osteonecrosis of the jaw) and atraumatic femur fractures (AFF). Find out how a Fosamax injury lawyer can help you receive the compensation you deserve.

Why Women Take Fosamax

Fosamax is a drug that has been around for a number of years. It’s one of a class of drugs called bisphosphonates and was originally marketed to women by Merck & Co. as a way to make bones stronger. These are women who wanted to remain active in their later years and thought they were taking safe drugs that would prevent or decrease the chances of developing osteoporosis. However, the exact opposite may have occurred as evidenced by the increasing number of Fosamax injury lawsuits being filed alleging bone death and bone fractures.

California Fosamax Injury Lawsuits Filed

A Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding (JCCP) – a proceeding to address common issues of fact or law – representing approximately 30 new Fosamax injury lawsuits was filed in California on May 10, 2011 and approved to move forward. This proceeding is in addition to Multi-District Litigation (MDL) proceedings already filed that await discovery commencement.

Lawsuits basically allege two problems associated with Fosamax (generically known as alendronate) – osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) and atraumatic femur fractures (AFF).

• ONJ. ONJ, also known as avascular necrosis, aseptic necrosis or ischemic necrosis, is essentially jaw bone death. It is a bone disease that affects approximately 10,000 to 20,000 Americans each year and is commonly caused by a temporary or permanent loss of blood flow to the bones that results in bone tissue death and the collapse of the jaw. It is a painful and debilitating injury.
• AFF. AFF is an atraumatic femur fracture, which basically means that the fracture occurs even though you’re not exposed to any trauma. So, you can simply be walking down the street or sitting at home watching television and your femur will suddenly have a transverse fracture. Fixing a femur fracture is a highly involved surgery wherein a doctor has to put a rod in the leg – which can be quite large as the femur is the longest bone in the human body.

Fosamax injury lawyers say that a number of physicians have recently started advocating prophylactically rodding the non-affected side as well. Having rods put into both legs obviously increases the amount of expense, recovery time and pain and suffering involved with major surgery – not to mention lost wages and future medical expenses.

Fosamax injury attorneys in California say that the 30 cases currently pending in Orange County may only be the tip of the iceberg and that they expect many more to be filed this year. In addition, there are currently 38 other actions pending in eight districts across the nation – some of which have been consolidated in an MDL.

Taking Fosamax “For Life” Was a Marketing Tactic

Fosamax lawyers say that it’s unfortunate that these drugs were originally marketed as something a woman could take for life – a claim that was never promulgated by the FDA itself, but merely used as a marketing tactic by manufacturers. Now it appears to have the opposite effect of what was expected – women having been taking these medications for years to strengthen bones, yet are now experiencing bone death and fractures.

Now medical experts say that women who have been on one of these classes of drugs for close to three years should strongly consider going to their physician and discussing the propriety of continued use as prolonged use may cause injury. That’s especially true if they start to have pains in their thighs or buttocks as that may be a warning sign for a femur fracture.

Hiring a Fosamax Lawyer

If you’ve been injured due to Fosamax use or another bisphosphonate drug such as Boniva, Actonel, Aredia, Zometa or others, contact a Fosamax injury lawyer to discuss your situation in confidence and determine whether you might be entitled to compensation so that you can decide if taking further action against the manufacturer is in your best interests – and that of your family.