SPECIFIC PRODUCTS
VIOXX CLAIMS
VIOX CLAIMS SOLICITORS
In August 2005 a Texas jury in a civil trial found international drug manufacturer Merck and Co liable for the death of Robert C. Ernst who died in 2001 after taking Vioxx which is a painkiller made by the company that was eventually recalled from sale to the public in late 2004. After 10 hours of deliberations over two days the jury of seven men and five women in Angleton, Texas, about 40 miles south of Houston, returned on a 10-2 vote and allowed widow Carol Ernst's Viox claims in the sum of $253.5 million the majority of which was punitive damages indicating that the jury believed that Merck and Co acted in a wholly unacceptable way or were morally reprehensible and acted with total disregard for the health and safety of Mr. Ernst. Merck and Co will almost certainly appeal this judgement and expect to have the amount of the award reduced even if they cannot reverse the decision on liability which seems unlikely. Texas's rules on punitive damages will automatically lower the amount of the award to $26.1 million.
Individual jurors who were interviewed after the trial have indicated that on the basis of testimony and documents that were produced during the trial they believed that Merck was long aware of the potential risks and should have withdrawn the product long before they did. The documents showed that scientists at Merck were worried about potential cardiovascular risks as early as 1997, two years before Merck began selling the drug. The value of the company was battered when the product was withdrawn due to the anticipated number and value of potential of Viox claims and fell a further 8% on news of the result of the trial and now stands at about two thirds of its value prior to the drugs recall.
Almost 5,000 Viox claims have now been initiated in US courts and although Merck initially indicated that it would fight every case, a company spokesman has now indicated that they will consider settling cases where the claimant did not have previous heart problems and took this drug for at least 18 months prior to a heart problem arising.
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