Statute of Limitations for Vioxx Suits May Be Extended In Oregon
The Statesman Journal reports that Oregon citizens injured by Vioxx but unable to sue because the statute of limitations expired may get justice after all:
Some Oregon lawsuits against the manufacturer of Vioxx could proceed under a bill that the Oregon House passed Tuesday.
House Bill 2448, which went to the Senate on a 58-0 vote, would fix a glitch in Oregon law that blocks some people from suing Merck. Vioxx was introduced in 1999 as a medication to relieve pain from arthritis, but was withdrawn in 2004 because of an elevated risk of heart attack and stroke.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that liability suits had to be filed within two years of an injury, regardless of when the plaintiff discovered the connection between the injury and the product in question. The 2003 Legislature changed the law to allow a lawsuit two years after such a discovery, but the law applies to injuries occurring after Jan. 1, 2004.
The bill would allow suits by those injured after the court's 2001 decision but before the Legislature's 2004 fix.
-- Peter Wong
Source: 2007 Legislature - StatesmanJournal.com
Relevant portions of the bill are below:
(2) A civil action for injury, including any product liability action under ORS 30.900 to
30.920 and any action based on negligence, resulting from the use of a COX-2 inhibitor must
be commenced not later than four years after the date on which the plaintiff first discovered,
or in the exercise of reasonable care should have discovered, the injury and the causal re-
lationship between the injury and the product, or the causal relationship between the injury
and the conduct of the defendant.
(3) A civil action for death, including any product liability action under ORS 30.900 to
30.920 and any action based on negligence, resulting from the use of a COX-2 inhibitor must
be commenced not later than six years after the date on which the plaintiff first discovered,
or in the exercise of reasonable care should have discovered, the causal relationship between
the death and the product, or the causal relationship between the death and the conduct of
the defendant.
Source: House Bill 2448
Here's hoping that the bill becomes law.