Elaine Doherty loses Vioxx case
In a setback to tens of thousands of Americans whose loved ones died (as many as 60,000 are dead) and others who suffered heart attacks and strokes, a jury in New Jersey did not agree with the claim of Elaine Doherty, a homemaker from Lawrenceville, N.J., who alleged that she took VIOXX daily from June 28, 2001, until she suffered a heart attack on Jan. 19, 2004, at age 65. She continued to take the medicine until Merck voluntarily withdrew it from the market in September 2004.
This is the seventh case that has gone to trial. Merck has been directed to pay millions of dollars in compensation to Carol Ernst, Leonel Garza (now deceased), and John McDarby. Thomas Cona, Evelyn Irvin Plunkett, and Frederick “Mike” Humeston lost their cases. An eighth case, that of Stewart Grossberg, is currently under way in Los Angeles.
This decision shows that victims who have other likely causes for heart problems (like high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity) will have a more difficult task to prove their case. In a series of setbacks to the company, several developments in recent months have shown that Merck lied about the safety of the painkiller and organized a campaign to mislead physicians, the FDA, and patients.
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