More trouble ahead for Merck after defeat in Texas
While the $250 million plus awarded to Carol Ernst will be reduced to something more reasonable like $26 million that does not change the fact Merck suffered a terrible loss in Angleton, Texas. The New York Times is already asking “[W]hether Merck will survive as a strong, independent company or will be crippled for years or even decades?” Discussing the steep drop in Merck’s stock price this Friday, Red Herring comments, “It is a really bad day at the office when your company’s market value drops by $5.2 billion, roughly the equivalent to the gross domestic product of the Bahamas.”
In other words, Merck is in serious trouble since most analysts expect that the company is unlikely to win any cases. That may force the company to settle the exploding number of lawsuits out of court so that it can move on. Merck has vowed to fight each case individually but experts believe that it is merely a marketing message designed to discourage attorneys and victims to sue the company. A few high-profile losses like the one in Texas will force the company to settle the cases.
There are several reasons why Merck is bound to lose all the cases:
- Mark Lanier relied mostly on Merck’s internal documents and other materials to prove that the company hid the risks and acted unethically. In other words, the paper trail is simply too good for plaintiff attorneys. Upto 7 million pieces of documents are being reviewed by lawyers and even more damaging pieces of evidence is expected to emerge in forthcoming trials.
- Merck is arrogant. While overwhelming evidence clearly says that Merck executives have done something not right, the company is desperately trying to prove that everyone else is wrong while it is right. Rightfully so, not many jurors in Texas bought Merck’s story.
- Merck is relying on technicalities to fight the lawsuit. For instance, the company wants to steer the debate to the topic that the patients did not have a heart attack due to Vioxx but had other reasons for it. Most experts expect that as more and more evidence of Merck’s misconduct is presented during trials, not many jurors will believe that Merck was selling harmless candies.
Recommended article: Vioxx recall lawsuits to exceed 100,000
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.