Posted on 08/19/2005 1:19:34 PM PDT by dogbyte12
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Merck has been held liable by a Texas jury in the first lawsuit involving its former blockbuster drug Vioxx, in a case that could have a profound effect on thousands of other cases filed against the company.
Plaintiff Carol Ernst has won her lawsuit in Texas Superior Court, which blames Vioxx for the 2001 death of her husband, Robert Ernst, a 59-year-old marathon runner and Wal-Mart worker who was taking the arthritis painkiller at the time of his death. Ernst died of a heart attack.
The verdict held Merck liable for the death. The jury awarded more than $250 million in total damages -- a $24 million penalty to Carol Ernst for mental anguish and loss of companionship and $229 million in punitive damages.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Mine is a dupe. Didn't see the other when I searched.
And people wonder why insurance is so high...
Exactly right!
not to mention why medicine costs so much... have to pay for the frivolous lawsuits...
if tylenol was branded today - it would never have made it to the market! same with penicillin. The risk of adverse events would have been too high...
And there are people who are denied the use of the only pain medication that works for them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.