Stewart Grossberg loses Vioxx lawsuit

After Elaine Doherty lost her bid to expose Merck's role in heart attacks and strokes caused by Vioxx, another victim, Stewart Grossberg, also lost his case. Earlier it was feared that merely short term users of the painkiller were at a disadvantage but these two cases show that Americans that are in poor health due to other reasons (like obesity) may have a hard time convincing juries.

Like Frederick Mike Humeston, Thomas Cona, and Richard “Dicky” Irvin (deceased, but the lawsuit brought by his wife Evelyn Irvin Plunkett), Northridge, California resident Stewart Grossberg also failed in his efforts to be compensated by Merck, which aggressively marketed the painkiller Vioxx and deliberately hid its dangers. As many as 60,000 Americans are dead after taking the drug and as many as 16,000 lawsuits are pending.

In the Stewart Grossberg case, he failed in his efforts to show a solid link between Vioxx and his heart attack because of his pre-existing heart and cholesterol problems. The drug was most often prescribed to patients with arthritis pain who also happen to be older and more likely to suffer from other conditions like diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and other diseases that may also cause a heart attack.

Most analysts believed that Grossberg's case was weak and now attorneys are eagerly awaiting the outcome of another lawsuit by Gerald Barnett, an ex-FBI agent, who was more physically fit but suffered a heart attack and needed a five-way bypass operation.