Puerto Rico residents to sue Merck over Vioxx deaths

In March this year, a study conducted showed that while Merck deliberately hid the risks from patients, doctors, and the FDA, it did not even provide the basic safety information on Vioxx to non-English speakers. A consumer rights group Consejo de Latinos Unidos compiled its report based on interviews of Spanish speaking patients in Puerto Rico. Vioxx was sold as Ceoxx in some Spanish speaking countries.

The same group is now planning to help victims in Puerto Rico sue Merck. It may be recalled that in a recent trial in Texas, Carol Ernst, the widow of a man who died after taking the drug, was awarded $26 million. The second trial, Humeston vs. Merck is scheduled to start in less than two weeks.

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