Bextra Lawsuit

Overview
Bextra is in a class of drugs called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Bextra is used to reduce pain, inflammation, and stiffness caused by osteoarthritis and adult rheumatoid arthritis. Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex are a group of painkillers known as Cox-2 inhibitors, which work by suppressing the Cox-2 enzyme associated with inflammation. Bextra generated $1.2 billion in sales last year.

Side Effects
Can cause burning stomach pain, black bowel movements that look like tar, vomit that looks like blood or coffee grounds, liver damage and heart problems such as a stroke. Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest not-for-profit managed-care provider, has stopped prescribing Bextra until tests show whether the painkiller is safe. The reason for this is that there is increasing evidence that this drug, just like other pain killer drugs from manufacturer Merck & Co, is a serious risk to users.

Conpensation
Users are begining to find attorneys knowing that there may well be a bextra recall just as they were before when other drugs by Merck & Co came under fire. As the average payout for this type of case is $150,000, companies like Merck & Co stand to lose between $5 - $30 billion. Some Bextra lawsuit caases could payout even more because of the potentially very harmful effects of the drug. There seems to be increasing amount of bextra news about new lawsuits which should mean Merck & Co are going to be in trouble.

Update
Pfizer has taken the drug Bextra off market under pressure from the FDA. The Food and Drug Administration said it wants manufacturers to include stronger warnings on the packaging of painkillers ranging from staples such as ibuprofen and naproxen to newer drugs such as Celebrex.

"We have filed some Bextra cases already all over the country. Right now we're looking at probably over 1,000" cases, said Jere Beasley, who has filed product liability lawsuits against Pfizer. "We'll probably file, out of that, 250 or 300" lawsuits.