Jury Awards $253 million to Widow in First Vioxx® Case

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A Texas jury on August 19 found drug maker Merck & Co. negligent in the death of a man who took its painkiller Vioxx® and awarded his widow $253 million in the first of thousands of Vioxx® lawsuits to go to trial.

The startling verdict will be greatly reduced under Texas law, but Merck's stock fell sharply as investors feared it could set a precedent for more than 4,200 lawsuits filed against Merck. Merck shares fell $2.35, or 7.73 percent, to $28.06 on the news of the verdict.

The case filed by widow Carol Ernst charged that Vioxx® had caused her husband, Robert Ernst, a 59-year-old marathoner who took the drug for almost eight months, to die of a heart attack in 2001.

The 12-member Texas jury voted 10-2 that Merck should pay $24 million to Carol Ernest for mental anguish and loss of companionship and $229 million in punitive damages. Unfortunately, Texas law limits punitive awards to two times economic damage in this case $450,000, plus up to another $750,000. There is not financial limit set for loss of companionship and mental anguish.

Mark Lanier, the plaintiff's attorney urged Merck to settle the pending Vioxx® lawsuits, not to fight them. He vowed to file more lawsuits against Merck and to "pound them again." "Merck, you need to address this, you need to be responsible, you need to be accountable. You can't just use your money and your resources and run. At some point, the running stops," Lanier said.

Juror Derick Chizer, said the jury, which deliberated almost two days, knew their award probably would be cut, but felt Merck needed a jolt to change its ways. "That was a message to them," he said.

Another juror, Stacy Smith, said she was shocked at the evidence that showed the company knew the dangers of Vioxx® long before they removed it from the market. "That was the main thing that stuck out to me, they knew and they still put it out anyway," she said.

The painkiller had been taken by about 20 million people at the time of its recall and contributed more than $2.5 billion in sales for Merck in 2003, about 10 percent of the company's total revenue.

Due to pending lawsuits, Merck stated at the end of last year it had set aside $675 million to help cover legal costs.

Another Vioxx® trial is set to begin September 12, 2005 in New Jersey, where Merck is based.

If you believe that you or a relative were injured by taking Vioxx® please use the form below to contact our law firm.

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