Federal Vioxx trial set to start soon
As reported earlier, the Thanksgiving weekend will not be the time to relax and enjoy for attorneys in the federal Vioxx trial starting next week. Judge Eldon Fallon has issued many guidelines on how the trial will be conducted.
One the major points of contention right now in Vioxx litigation is if use of the drug for less than 18 months is as dangerous as many plaintiffs contend. It was on this very point that Frederick Mike Humeston lost his case in the second trial in Atlantic City. In the federal trial, though, the judge has said that the plaintiff’s attorney can argue that Vioxx can be lethal even if taken for less than 18 months. But to make things fair for Merck, he also allowed the company to argue otherwise. But it is not going to be easy for the company. In New Jersey, Merck suffered a major setback when Judge Carol Higbee announced that some of the cases that will go on trial first will be of only those victims who have taken the drug for over 18 months.
“In essence, both the Plaintiff and Merck rely on the same material,” U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon wrote in his ruling. “They simply interpret it differently and reach contrary conclusions. The Court’s role as gate-keeper is to scrutinize the methodology, not the conclusions.”
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