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Osteonecrosis of the Jaw

Osteonecrosis means death of bone tissue. According to a jury verdict, June 25, 2010, Fosamax® caused the osteonecrosis of a woman’s jawbone. The jury awarded $8 million to a Florida woman who sued Merck & Co., accusing their product of causing death in the tissue of her jawbone.

The woman claimed she suffered problems of her jaw and teeth because she took Fosamax® from 1997 to 2006.

Merck published a statement saying that it would challenge the jury verdict. The company argued that the evidence did not support either the jury’s conclusions or the penalty.

The First of Many Fosamax® Lawsuits

This was the first trial of about 1,280 groups of people pursuing nearly 900 Fosamax® lawsuits for the same condition resulting from taking the medication.

Merck approved Fosamax® in 1995. The medication went off label, meaning it was no longer protected by a patent, in February 2008.

Fosamax® is a medication taken by persons, mostly women and postmenopausal women, who are at risk for losing bone density and therefore at risk for bone fractures. Bone is in a continuous process of breakdown and reformation. When the breakdown exceeds the reformation of bone, the bone becomes thin or loses its density.

Injuries to the Jawbone

Osteonecrosis of the jaw can remain without showing any observable symptoms for many weeks or even months.

Usually, signs that there is death of jaw tissue, include:

• Pain
• Soft tissue swelling
• Infection
• Loosening of the teeth
• Drainage

Sometimes, the only sign that there is a problem with the jaw is that exposed bone tissue shows up in the mouth. Sores in the tissue may become apparent only after another infection occurs or the soft tissue is harmed by sharp edges of the exposed bone.

These symptoms can appear before the actual diagnosis of osteonecrosis of the jaw. Sometimes an infection can be detected by doing a tissue biopsy if metastatic cancer is suspected. If infection is suspected, x-rays and other forms of imaging of the tissue can be conducted to rule out other possible causes of the tissue problems, such as cysts or impacted teeth.

A 2004 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety review of studies done after Fosamax® was on the market led the FDA to recommend a change in the package labeling, warning patients and health care providers of the possibility of osteonecrosis of the jaw.

Ask a Fosamax® Lawyer

If you’ve suffered osteonecrosis of the jaw and have a history of taking Fosamax®, you may be eligible to file a Fosamax® dead jaw lawsuit to seek compensation for your damages. To find out more information, contact our Fosamax® attorneys today.

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