1. Lawyers, from MSB Solicitors in Liverpool, have submitted clients‘ medical records to United States doctors in an attempt to sue Merck and are hopeful they will win.

2. Lawyers, from MSB Solicitors in Liverpool, will hand over details of the medical history of its clients who claim taking the drug damaged their health.

3. It is likely it will settle stronger cases and fight weaker ones,‘ said Gerard Dervan, a lawyer with MSB Solicitors in Liverpool.

4. Irwin Mitchell, one of the top seven legal firms in Britain, are preparing a group action for more than 200 UK claimants who have suffered symptoms of heart attacks, in conjunction with Leigh Day solicitors in London and Goodmans in Liverpool. ‘We get enquiries every day and are looking carefully at whether it is more profitable for our clients to make their claim in the US or the UK,‘ said Sallie Booth, solicitor for Irwin Mitchell. ‘The sum awarded by the American courts is far in advance of anything a British court would order, so that is something we are considering.‘ A further 60 claimants are being represented by MSB, the Liverpool solicitors who represented the mother of the murdered toddler James Bulger and the nanny Louise Woodward.