Vioxx victim receives a quarter billion dollars in damages
As we had expected, a jury in Texas has found Merck guitly of causing the early death of Robert Ernst. His widow Carol Ernst had brought the lawsuit against the company. She had charged that Merck knowingly sold a drug that was dangerous and continued to sell it despite overwhelming evidence showed that Vioxx was increasing the risks of heart attacks and strokes. (Recommended link: The index of complete list of articles related to Vioxx and its recall)
Most analysts had expected that Merck would lose the case since the company’s internal documents showed that it was using unethical business practices to market the drug and was intimidating all critics who were concerned about its safety. While it is generally believed that Merck will soon go bankrupt due to tens of billions of dollars in legal liabilities, the company is expected to drag the process for years. As expected, the company has vowed to appeal this case as well. In fact, the company had already appealed to an appelate court in this case when Mark Lanier, the attorney for Ernst, presented Maria Araneta’s testimony.
Implications of this case
For Vioxx victims: More of these people are now expected to come forward. In fact, Vioxx attorneys are now expected to take on more clients as they realize that they have stronger case against Merck. According to emails that we received, many Vioxx victims were asked to wait by lawyers if their case was somewhat “weak.”
For Merck: The company simply appeal this case and declare this as just one of the thousands of cases that it is expecting to fight in the courts worldwide. While it is a setback for the company, it can start to focus attention on the lawsuit scheduled for trial in New Jersey next month. The federal lawsuit is expected to go on trial in November. The company is also facing litigation from Texas AG and there are reports that the attorney general in Oregon is also suing Merck.
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