The price for taking mega-drugmaker Merck on in court -- sifting through millions of documents and getting testimony from Merck officials -- can run as much as $1 million and only a handful of law firms can afford to do that.

Fortunately, a steering committee of Virginia plaintiffs' attorneys has put together a pre-made trial package that is free but those using it must pay a contingency fee of 3 percent or 6 percent of any rewards or settlements to the lawyers who assembled the package.

Using the package can bring the cost of filing suit against Merck down to $50,000, a 20-fold decrease and make it affordable to sue Merck. I wonder if this package will affect the number of Vioxx lawsuits, nearly 10,000 and rising by the day.

The variable that will likely determine how successful Vioxx plaintiffs are in the courts: How long patients took the banned drug. John McDarby, who received a $13.5 million award last week, had taken Vioxx for four years.

Wall Street Journal April 17, 2006 Registration Required