In the case, a woman who claims she suffered serious jaw injuries from the drug was awarded $285,000.
The case is the first of the Fosamax “bellwether” trials—test cases the legal community uses to gauge the outcome of similar lawsuits—to result in a loss for Merck. The pharmaceuticals behemoth has thus far won five such bellwether trials. There are approximately 4,000 legal claims against Merck for Fosamax-related injuries.