Vioxx victims wins $47.5 award
After losing the lawsuit brought by Frederick Mike Humeston, Merck has been directed by a jury to pay as much as $47.5 million to Humeston and his wife – $20 million amount is for compensatory damages and $27.5 million in punitive damages.
Humeston is Vietnam-war veteran and was honored twice for his service to the nation. Without realizing the dangers of Vioxx, he took the deadly painkiller for his pain. He was lucky to survive his heart attack, but 60,000 Americans are reported to be dead after taking the drug, according to an FDA estimate.
Merck is facing close to 30,000 lawsuits but the company has vowed to fight each victim individually. The company has refused to take any responsibility for knowingly marketing a killer drug and continues to claim innocence – it has also refused to pay even a penny to any of the other victims – Carol Ernst, Gerald Barnett, Leonel Garza, and John McDarby – who have won their cases against the company. As expected, the company is planning to appeal this verdict as well.
“We disagree with today’s jury’s verdict,” said Hope Freiwald of Dechert LLP, a member of Merck’s defense team. “The last time a jury considering the Humeston case had a chance to hear all the evidence at one time it found that Merck acted responsibly.” Merck has objected to the structure of the trial because of the potential for jury confusion and bias.
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