On September 30, 2004, the pharmaceutical company, Merck, pulled its arthritis drug, Vioxx from the worldwide market, due to strokes and heart attacks in patients, but the move did not stop over 45,000 former-users and their families from suing Merck. The plaintiffs, however, have struggled to collect damages awarded to them in successful litigations.

Learn more about the plaintiffs in these suits from the New York Times.