Merck wins victims lose
Many experts believed that the recall of Vioxx will destroy Merck. After all the painkiller was actually a killer — it estimated that as many as 60,000 Americans died from Vioxx and over a 100,000 injured.
The legal system, though, works in interesting ways, particularly if you hire great attorneys and victims have a weak case because like most Americans they love food more than their health.
Since two out of three Americans are out of shape and it is common to see cases of heart problems and diabetes, particularly among those who also suffered from arthritis, Merck exploited their medical histories to prove their drug was not the cause.
In a very sad development, a Texas appeals court agreed with the drugmaker that Robert Ernst did not die due to Vioxx and his wife Carol Ernst is not entitled to the quarter billion dollar damages that she initially won. In a similar case, Thomas Cona and John McDarby also lost their cases. As of now, just three cases have gone in favor of victims as the company has decided to settle the rest. In yet another victory, Merck will no longer have to pay for medical monitoring of Vioxx users not claiming injury.
Obviously, it is a great setback to consumers since pharmaceutical firms can now knowingly sell unsafe drugs and if people get killed, they have not much to lose.
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