Lawsuit- information request

Who here has joined the lawsuit or started a personal lawsuit against merck? Or the prescribing doctor? Would love any information if anyone has any

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Me too.

I would say wait until more studies are released there’s not enough to fight this just yet!

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I mean there is considering what reuters has proven, that merck systematically discounted evidence of sides and lowered the frequency of occurrence in their studies

No disrespect, but a news article won’t do much for you in court.

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Obviously notbutbpeople have already won settlements in US courts, and this reuters article isnt evidence so much as evidence that there IS concealed evidence. Anyways lawsuits do exist, and I would love to hear from anyone who is participating or who knows someone who is participating.

It wouldn’t tell you much as the documents haven’t been unsealed yet.

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if noone comes forward, if you search, you’ll find some people here who took part in a lawsuit years ago, you might get some response from them if you send a private message.

Be aware that the sums are derisory. I would assume anyone settling at this time would not get the kind of compensation that would make a significant difference. I would expect that these numbers would improve with more proof and evidence, but that is down the line.

A few things:

The lawyers struggled to put forth the scientific arguments. This was partly because they were not highly skilled lawyers, this was partly due to the fact that the case was hard to prove because sexual dysfunction is not a well understood in general, and lastly because more scientific research would have been helpful. With more competent lawyers, they might have been able to pull it off but that’s not what happened.

There is a lot of strength in numbers in mass tort litigation and it will be hard to put forth the same number of plaintiffs at this point. I really can’t overstate this point. Still, this obstacle isn’t a guarantee that it is impossible. There are no US lawyers I know of that are willing to take this on at this point.

You might have more luck in the EU because the system is more protective of consumers over corporations. I don’t know where you live.

You are right, the Reuters article shows that Merck hid information from the public. That is necessary, but not sufficient, to successfully win against Merck at least in the US.

The whole process is really emotionally painful. You may not want to do it, especially with what I believe is a limited chance of getting traction let alone success. But that’s up to you.

I’m sorry to be the bearer of pessimistic news but I think realistic expectations are important to have in the healing process, at least from the mental abuse we’ve been dealt in this situation.

The thing is we can’t do anything in the E.U since Merck and Co’s headquarters is located in New Jersey so they are well shielded away from liability unless you can get an American lawyer willing to take on the case which seems to be virtually impossible unless your paying big money upfront.

I have contact with a androlog here in Sweden. I dont ni what it Will lead to but he sad he Will Talk to other specialist and Mybe try to get some collective effort going.

My comments only really apply to the US since that is what I have some experience with. I do remember that there was Vioxx litigation in Australia and I think there might be some stuff ongoing in the EU right now (maybe France).

Might be a good idea to reach out to the Foundation and maybe create a centralized database of interested parties and their countries of origin. I don’t know if it is possible at this point, but if so, there is definitely strength in numbers.

My father is a personal injury attorney, with his own firm. I believe i could maybe get him to take it, seeing as he has seen firsthand how it destroyed my life.

Would the recent melcangi studies of the past two-three years make a difference?

Yes they might make a difference, but there are a lot of other considerations that are very challenging that you would need to think about before starting a case from scratch. I recommend going to your dad and asking him if he would be willing to do this first because as a lawyer he should have a better idea.

I wonder if it’s possible to just go after the FDA in a lawsuit first then go after Merck last?

It would make more sense, after all they approved the drug and they even had the label changed multiple times.

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If you can prove that you have altered neurosteroids or methylation of the SRD5A2 gene and that finasteride was the cause then this would be a colossal case that is if it doesn’t get thrown out of court before it reaches trial. You would really need the likes of Robert Melcangi speaking on video link about his findings in PFS patients to convince the jury and it wouldn’t hurt to have a geneticist that has looked at the studies and have him provide evidence also maybe Goldstein too.

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Goldstein can’t really do anything from what i’ve seen. There are drs who offer treatment like goldstein, and then Their are doctors who can offer real irrefutable evidence like melcangi. Big distinction, especially legally. I have actually emailed melcangi multiple times about trying to get a 5ar2 and androgen receptor anslysis. He says he doesn’t have any studies currently regarding those.

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Goldstein would still be a credible source as he has examined many PFS patients over the years however Melcangi would be your best bet in terms of in depth knowledge regarding the studies. It’s a shame the foundation couldn’t set up a way for us to get these tested it would benefit everyone and is the only way we can prove causation in terms of the depletion of neurosteroids which is obviously a huge medical injury.

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We shouldn’t be talking about things we wish the foundation would do. We owe them. They have given us an incredible amount for nothing in return. We should be talking about how WE can make these kinds of things happen for the community.

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I am wondering about the chances of a trial concerning PSSD as it is now accepted by the EMA and some important opinion leaders of the German medical community such as university professors/psychiatrists. For now, maybe an even clearer diagnostic picture is needed depicting correlation and evidence.

As I said in another thread I‘d consider it useful if admins and mods would get in contact with the German PSSD group to exchange some views on eventual common efforts as they are now in contact with scientists and doctors that apparently do have the sympathy to help and to set something up.