Judge rejects Merck request boosting Vioxx victim case

In a serious setback to Merck, Judge Ben Hardin has rejected its request to block the coroner Maria Araneta to testify against the firm. In her testimony, Araneta believes that Robert Ernst actually died due to a heart attack. That is what the plaintiff's lawyer has been arguing all along though Merck thinks that since Ernst did not die of a heart attack, Vioxx can not be the culprit.

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