Femur Fracture lawsuits consolidated to one MDL

Femur fracture lawsuits filed by women who have taken Fosamax®, Boniva®, and Reclast®, which are included in a class of drugs known as bisphosphonates, will all be consolidated into a single multidistrict litigation, according to Consumer Drug Report, a medical drug information resource. Women who have taken these medications for the treatment of osteoporosis claim to have suffered femur fractures as a result of long term use.

Merck & Co., the manufacturer of Fosamax currently faces over a thousand lawsuits filed by women across the United States. Each lawsuit includes similar allegations that Merck failed to properly warn regarding the long term side effects of Fosamax. Three bellwether trials are scheduled this year and will help the courts predict future trends throughout litigation.

All Fosamax lawsuits are currently consolidated before Judge Garrett E. Brown for pretrial proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Several Boniva and Reclast femur fracture lawsuits have already been added to the Fosamax MDL. Theresa Thomas- Walsh claims that while taking Fosamax, Boniva, and Reclast, she suffered both right and left femur fractures. Her case was also added to the Fosamax MDL.

The Food and Drug Administration mandated all bisphosphonate drug manufacturers to update warning labels to include long term side effects such as bone injuries and femur fracture injuries.

It is recommended that anyone who has taken Fosamax, Boniva, or Reclast seek medical help if they experience symptoms of possible bone injuries which may include groin or thigh pain.

Bisphosphonate drugs are bone strengthening medications and are prescribed to women who suffer osteoporosis, a chronic condition which often leads to bone breakage. Fosamax is the most widely taken bisphosphonate in the U.S. and generated $3 billion in sales for Merck prior to the release of a generic version.

What is A Femoral Fracture?

"Femoral" refers to the femur, or the thigh bone.  One of the strongest bones in the body, it usually requires a great deal of force in order to cause a femur fracture.  As the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons explain on their website:

To break the thighbone across its length (shaft) takes a great deal of force, as might occur in a motor vehicle accident or a fall from a high place. Because of this, a broken thighbone is often associated with potentially life-threatening injuries to other body systems.

Symptoms of a femoral fracture include severe pain,inability to move the leg, deformity, and swelling.  A broken femur can be life threatening.

As eMedicine explains:

The femur is the largest and strongest bone and has a good blood supply. Because of this and its protective surrounding muscle, the shaft requires a large amount of force to fracture. Once a fracture does occur, this same protective musculature usually is the cause of displacement, which commonly occurs with femoral shaft fractures.


As with many orthopedic injuries, neurovascular complications and pain management are the most significant issues in patients who come to the ED. The rich blood supply, when disrupted, can result in significant bleeding. Open fractures have added potential for infection.

While normally a large amount of force is required to break the bone, evidence suggests that patients taking the bisphosphonate Fosamax (R) can suffer abnormal, or "atypical" femur fractures.  These atypical femur fractures do not require much force, and otherwise healthy-seeming femurs break all too easily.

Learn more about Fosamax(R) and Fosamax Femur Fracture Lawsuits at our Fosamax Fracture Lawsuit website.

Have you or a loved one suffered from a femur fracture?  Please leave a comment and share your story below!