Federal Vioxx trial to start after Thanksgiving
While the first ever Vioxx lawsuit trial is underway in Texas, another announcement says that the other case, that of Evelyn Irvin Plunkett v. Merck, is to go to trial among cases pending in the federal Vioxx MDL (No. 1657) in New Orleans after Thanksgiving this year. The announcement was made by Judge Eldon E. Fallon of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, who is presiding over the Vioxx Multi-district Litigation (MDL).
The Beasley Allen Law Firm in Montgomery, Alabama is representing Mrs. Plunkett and 162 other plaintiffs (125 in federal court; 37 in state court). Plunkett’s husband, Richard Irvin Jr. began taking Vioxx for back pain in 2001. Many attorneys now charge that Merck knew about the risks of Vioxx at that time. One month later he died of a heart attack. He was 53 years old. Mr. Irvin was the manager of a wholesale seafood business in St. Augustine, Fla., and he was in “very good health,” according to his wife. She is convinced he died because he took Vioxx. The ongoing trial in Texas has a similar story. Robert Ernst was in great physical shape and was literally addicted to exercising but died after he started taking Vioxx, according to his widow Carol Ernst and the coroner Maria Araneta.
It is expected that the jury will decide later this month if Robert Ernst did die due to Vioxx – a charge that Merck denies.
Recommended article: Merck in trouble half way into the trial
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.