Archive for August, 2005
Vioxx victims wait to watch trial in New Jersey
Merck recently lost the first lawsuit in ongoing Vioxx recall litigation. The plaintiff was Carol Ernst, who claimed successfully that Vioxx caused the premature death of her husband Bob Ernst. Mr. Ernst was a fitness addict and did not have any heart condition prior to taking the drug. Merck still tried to argue (unsuccessfully though) [...]
Merck agrees to settle some Vioxx cases
Exactly as we had predicted, Merck has now announced that it will settle some Vioxx cases out of court. The company’s general counsel, Ken Frazier, said in an interview that Merck would consider settling suits brought by people who (i) took Vioxx for long periods of time and (ii) had few other risk factors for [...]
Merck internal documents help Vioxx victims
In the courtroom immediately after the verdict that found Merck guilty of causing the death of Robert Ernst, a reporter asked Mark Lanier how he had won the case. “The documents,” he replied. “The documents tell the truth.” That is exactly what is helping the plaintiffs. While Merck makes oral statements that claim its innonence, [...]