Zocor (simvastatin) Lawsuit - Do I Qualify?

How do I know if I qualify for a Zocor lawsuit?

Unfortunately, not everyone that wishes to file a lawsuit against the makers of Zocor will qualify. When qualifying a lawsuit for Zocor, some of the criteria the attorneys look for are if you or a family are presently taking or have taken Zocor 80mg, simvastating 80mg or Vytorin 10/80 mg. Once a prescription history has been established legal experts will want to know if you have ever been diagnosed with a serious muscle injury (myopathy), kidney failure or rhabdomyolysis. It is best if you have the medical records to show you were prescribed to Zocor or a similar simvastatin. If you have taken a cholesterol-lowering drug and experienced muscular pain and aren't sure if you qualify or not, it is best to inquire and is typically cost free to do so

Zocor Lawsuit Update

As more and more potential pharmaceutical lawsuits begin to pour in, they are being thoroughly studied by Zocor attorneys. What the lawyers are seeking, is persons living within the U.S. that have been diagnosed with conditions possibly associated with Zocor such as intense muscle problems, myopathy & rhabdomyolysis.

Most recently, continued controversy over potentially serious Zocor side effects has allowed hundreds of Zocor lawsuits to be filed against the statin drug's manufacturer, Merck. Moving forward, these pharmaceutical injury cases will be tried as individual Zocor lawsuits or they can also consolidated into what is known in the legal field as multidistrict litigation or MDL's. For case types such as this, multidistric litigation would be preferable to the plaintiff's as it allows the plaintiff attorneys to obtain and study any evident related to Zocor muscle injuries. This portion of pre-trial where attorney's are allowed to request information from Merck and vice versa is what's called the discovery phase, its purpose is to help avoid duplicitous work on either sides.

Zocor Side Effects & Rhabdomyolysis

Zocor (simvastatin) is produce by Merck & Co. and belongs to a class of prescription drugs known as statins, which are used to help lower cholesterol levels. Zocor lowers cholesterol by inhibiting cholesterol production within the patient's liver.

Recently, some patients who have been prescribed the 80mg dosage of the drug have filed Zocor lawsuits alleging that the pill has increased their chance of forming rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdomyolysis is a potentially deadly disease of the muscle that has been known to cause severe kidney damage & failure

Zocor's Profitability

With close to 24-million Americans currently being prescribed cholesterol-lowering medications, Zocor is big business for Merck & Co.

In addition to Rhabdomyolysis, Zocor has been potentially linked to another muscular disorder, myopathy. Myopathy occurs when there is an interference in the proper function of the fibrous tissue in muscles. The severity of myopathy can range from mild to severe, with the more extreme cases making even day-to-day tasks next to impossible.

In a recent clinical study, the occurence of myopathy was examined in 24,747 patients who were treated with Zocor for no less than 4 years. The reported incidents of myopathy reached levels of nearly 0.02%, 0.08% and 0.53% at 20, 40 and 80 mg./day.

Additionally, the FDA took a closer look at the results of a clinical trial which had evaluated the level of serious cardiovascular incidents in 6,031 persons taking simvastatin 80mg compared to a group of 6,033 taking only 20mg of the same drug. Their initial findings were that more persons in the 80 mg. group contracted myopathy when compared to patients in the 20 mg. group.

FDA's Zocor Findings

The FDA's initial analysis is suggesting that 11 patients in group that was taking 80 mg developed rhabdomyolysis. This finding is startling when you take into consideration that no patients from the 20 mg group developed the disorder.

If you or a family member has developed rhabdomyolysis or suffered as the result of the Zocor side effects, you may wish to seek legal counsel. You may be able to file a lawsuit against the manufacturers of Zocor and receive compensation for damages