CEO Gilmartin Will Survive Recall

"Other than Johnson & Johnson, medical companies are bad at appearing compassionate," Bernstein said. "Vioxx is very well prescribed and Merck needs to express concern to people who take it. There's been absolutely no message of compassion from the company. That's one of the biggest mistakes you can make."

Time will tell -- literally. Expect the lawsuits to closely examine the timeline surrounding the recall and what the company did and did not know. Last Thursday evening, Merck said it officially discovered problems with Vioxx, which had been rumored for years and denied by the company. After reviewing the data, the company alerted the FDA, making the decision to pull the drug on Tuesday.

"If this is nothing more than a recall based on additional testing, then Gilmartin survives," Bernstein said. "But if there's a smoking gun, evidence that gets uncovered that demonstrates that Merck and he were more aware of the risk than they revealed ... there's no question he will be gone."