By: Brandon Bogle

December 4th, 2012  11:00am

Merck, the manufacturer of Fosamax, recently provided a list of alleged expert witnesses it intends to call during upcoming femur fracture trials.  In the coming months, several firms representing plaintiffs who have suffered atypical femur fractures after long-term Fosamax use will begin taking the depositions of these witnesses.

These depositions involve witnesses in various fields including bone biology, epidemiology, endocrinology, orthopedic surgery, and pharmacology.  The depositions will present an invaluable opportunity to test the opinions of Merck’s alleged experts, while also uncovering Merck’s likely trial strategy.

The depositions are currently set to conclude by the end of January. These depositions and other key pre-trial discovery work is being performed in preparation for two trials already set to determine Merck’s liability for atypical femur fractures suffered by patients who took Fosamax for extended periods of time.

The first trial is currently set to begin in March of 2013 in Superior Court in Atlantic County, New Jersey.  A second trial is also set to begin in April of 2013 in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.  For the thousands of people who have suffered these fractures, the trials won’t come soon enough.  But, the injured victims can be optimistic that justice may yet be served in two New Jersey courthouses in 2013.

Brandon L. Bogle is an associate at the law firm of Levin, Papantonio, Thomas, Mitchell, Rafferty & Proctor.

More information on Fosamax litigation.

Farron Cousins is the executive editor of The Trial Lawyer magazine and a contributing writer at DeSmogBlog.com. He is the co-host / guest host for Ring of Fire Radio. His writings have appeared on Alternet, Truthout, and The Huffington Post. Farron received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of West Florida in 2005 and became a member of American MENSA in 2009. Follow him on Twitter @farronbalanced