NEW YORK (Fortune) -- This morning Merck (Charts) announced the number of Vioxx-related lawsuits that had been filed against it as of September 30, 2006. That date is crucial, because it represents the second-year anniversary of the company's withdrawal of Vioxx from the market, and the vast majority of states have either one- or two-year statutes of limitations for personal injury suits. According to Vioxx plaintiffs lawyer Mark Lanier, only seven states remain with statutes of limitations that have not yet expired. So we're getting close to the grand totals.

As of September 30, 2006, Merck had been hit with 23,800 suits on behalf of 41,750 "plaintiff groups." (A plaintiff group might include the spouse or dependents of a victim, who might be alleging "loss of consortium" or other damages related to the loss of a loved one or breadwinner.)

In addition, the company now faces 275 class actions, either for personal injury or economic damages (including consumer fraud suits, seeking reimbursement for patients' costs of buying a drug that was allegedly misrepresented as being safer than it really was, even if nothing bad ever happened to the purchaser as a result.)

The September 30 date is important for another reason. Because most of the filing is complete, Merck can realistically begin to consider moving toward a settlement strategy without worrying that its willingness to settle would entice a deluge of suits by lawyers and clients seeking quick and easy money.

Though the company is still pledging to fight every one, that might be a posture it can begin relaxing. Says Lanier in an email: "Merck is going to have to come up with another strategy than to try every case. Aside from the fact it abuses the court system (the corporate version of lawsuit abuse), the next 12 months Merck will sustain some real significant losses."

Merck also announced today that it would increase its reserves for Vioxx-related legal defense costs from $685 million to $958 million, and said it had spent $325 million on defense costs during the first nine months of 2006. The company has not yet allocated any reserves toward paying Vioxx-related judgments or settlements.