Merck hit by $253 million verdict in first Vioxx trial |
|
|
|
Published
:
Mon, 22 Aug 2005 00:35
|
ANGLETON, Texas - Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co, the maker of the drug Vioxx which was seen to cause cardiovascular problems subsequent to its use, has been dealt a severe blow by a Texas jury that has awarded $253-million to the widow of a 59-year-old marathon runner, Robert Ernst, who had taken the painkiller.
The verdict is quite significant in that there are another 4,000 estimated cases against the drug that are pending trial in the country. Merck, the nation's third-largest drug maker has been accused of hurrying Vioxx onto the market without properly investigating its side effects. Vioxx was shown to cause heart attacks and strokes and faced with such irrefutable evidence, Merck had voluntarily recalled the drug last year. This lawsuit is the first one to reach trial and could be a forbearer to a spurt of such suits against Merck since Vioxx was a market leader in the painkiller segment. Carol Ernst, the widow was awarded $24.4 million in actual damages and $229 million in punitive damages by the seven-man, five-woman jury, which debated for over two days and 10 hours before reaching the verdict. The jury voted 10-2 for the plaintiff, Ernst.
As the verdict was read out Carol Ernst began to cry in relief. Later she said, "I hope this will be a wake-up call to all drug companies. Consumers and physicians and doctors have a right to know about all of the risks of the drugs they are taking. I know in my heart my husband would be proud." Her lawyer, Mark Lanier was far more vocal, "It sends the message, regardless, that drug companies must tell us the good, the bad and the ugly about their drugs," he said.
But New Jersey-based Merck has said that it plans to appeal and has all along maintained that Robert Ernst died of cardiac arrhythmia, a condition where the rhythm of the heart is faulty. Merck also said that none of the studies had linked Vioxx to this condition and hence the law suit itself was based on a wrong premise, "The standards are very clear and they have to be met, and we believe plaintiffs did not meet their burden of proof in linking Mr. Ernst's death to Vioxx with any reliable scientific basis," said Jonathon Skidmore, Merck's lawyer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Print this Story
