Pharmaceutical giant, Merck, has agreed to pay out $58 million as part of a multi-state settlement in connection with allegations that its aggressive advertising campaign for its defective drug Vioxx, deceptively understated the health risks associated with the use of the drug. According to a business news report Merck will also be required to submit all new commercials for its drugs to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The civil settlement marks the conclusion of investigations by 29 states and the District of Columbia into the pharmaceutical company’s advertising strategies and practices. Vioxx, a popular painkiller, was pulled off the market in 2004 after patients complained of serious side effects including stroke and death. These adverse effects highlighted the drug’s defects and prompted a wave of personal injury lawsuits against Merck. A pending $4.85 billion settlement, if approved, will put an end to a majority of those lawsuits.

Merck’s deceptive, aggressive direct-to-television advertising campaign was so effective that hundreds of thousands of patients requested the drug before their doctors could know or understand the true side effects associated with its prolonged use. Vioxx was taken off the market in 2004 after research showed it doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

This settlement means that Merck is still not admitting any wrongdoing. The company’s formidable legal team has successfully defended many of the defective pharmaceutical cases that have been brought against the pharmaceutical giant. They have also consistently defended the way Merck advertised and marketed this clearly defective drug.

This settlement is a victory for consumers to the extent that the pharmaceutical company has been forced to pay millions for its negligence and lack of quality control, although company officials haven’t admitted it. By now, we are all only too painfully aware of the devastation caused by a deceptively advertised and otherwise misrepresented defective drug. As consumer attorneys, it is our job to hold these industry giants accountable for the defective products they put on the market.