Parties Submit Briefs on Ex Parte Communications with Plaintiffs' Physicians

NEW ORLEANS -- Merck & Co. would be prohibited from having ex parte communications with plaintiffs' physicians if the judge overseeing the Vioxx MDL adopts the argument plaintiffs made recently that such meetings would raise 'issues,' including ones related to patient privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). In re: VIOXX Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1657 (E.D. La.).

In a brief filed May 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, plaintiffs ask the court to follow a recent decision in the New Jersey Vioxx litigation and forbid defendants from …