Vioxx jury awards $20M to Idaho man |
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Mon, 12 Mar 2007 15:46
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TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Merck & Co.'s painkiller Vioxx contributed to the heart attack of an Idaho postal worker, a state jury in Atlantic City ruled Monday. The jury awarded Frederick 'Mike' Humeston and his wife $20 million in compensatory damages.The verdict at the end of the eight-week trial means Merck has now won nine cases and lost five in the mushrooming litigation over its former blockbuster arthritis pill.Humeston, 61, of Boise, Idaho, suffered a heart attack in September 2001, several months before Merck -- under pressure from federal regulators -- put a stronger warning about the cardiovascular risks of Vioxx on the drug's detailed package insert.Humeston, a decorated veteran, had taken Vioxx intermittently for about two months for knee pain from a Vietnam War shrapnel wound.The five-man, three-woman jury ruled on March 2 that Merck was negligent and did not provide adequate warning about those risks prior to Humeston's heart attack. That set the stage for a second phase of the trial, with the jury last week hearing evidence on whether Vioxx contributed to Humeston's heart attack, entitling him to damages.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Merck gets mixed verdict in Vioxx trial 