The Statin lawsuit is one of the most talked about cases in recent years and it shows no signs of slowing down. Many people who were diagnosed with statin-related diseases have been on the waiting list for the treatment known as a state, until their doctors could not find a way to make it work for them. Some waited well over a year before they received any type of statin treatment.
Statin Lawsuit
Once their doctors started letting them try different drugs they did see results, but the results were not what they had expected. This is when the lawsuit was filed. The patient wanted to be able to do everything possible to fight the disease and this is exactly what they got. They filed a lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline and their distributor, charging that they knew that their drug was defective but did not take the time to warn the patients.
The company has tried to fight the state lawsuit and several motions have been made to dismiss it.
Most of the motions are denied by the court and the lawyers involved simply refuse to accept responsibility. The courts seem to be taking the side of the patient, which is typical. A lawyer can file a motion to dismiss a case and the court will not rule on it. The court generally sends a message that the company does not have to admit or pay anything if they are denying the motion.
Attorneys who represent the plaintiffs have won substantial settlements from the companies they represented.
Even the company’s CEO has had to file a lawsuit against his own company. A few of the cases have been worth millions. But most have been for a few hundred dollars or less. There have also been settlements out of court for quite substantial amounts. The main goal of these lawsuits is to scare the medical industry to provide better care to patients suffering from ailments related to high cholesterol and that do not have diabetes.
The lawsuit is actually part of a larger campaign by Merck to fight “disease-spreading”.
This includes using lawsuits and aggressive marketing strategies. The company recently spent over forty million dollars on a public relations campaign in the United States. This money was apparently needed to deal with negative public opinion. While it appears to be working, the fact remains that there are more lawsuits today than ever before. If Merck wants to win this latest lawsuit, they would probably need to raise a lot more money and turn their aggressive advertising tactics into something more positive.
Whether you agree or disagree with the decision of Merck and the doctors involved in the state lawsuit, the lawsuit itself should stand.
Doctors have a duty to provide a service to their patients. If they fail to do so, a patient can sue them. The doctor cannot avoid providing treatment based on whether the patient is a paying patient or not.
