Vioxx Attorneys

Plaintiff wins first Vioxx trial

The verdict in the Vioxx case is a clear example of how our civil justice system works to protect our rights, enabling ordinary Americans to hold even the largest and wealthiest corporations accountable when they put their bottom line before the health and safety of the public.

David Graham, a scientist at the Food and Drug Administration, in testimony before the U.S. Congress, said that Vioxx contributed to the wrongful deaths of as many as 55,000 people in the United States.

Merck knowingly put a dangerous and deadly drug on the market and should be held accountable.

Internal Merck documents indicated that the company was aware of the problems with Vioxx as early as 1997. In fact, the company's top scientist stated in March 2000 that a clinical trial of Vioxx confirmed that the drug had heart risks. Despite their knowledge of these problems, Merck aggressively marketed the drug, making billions off of the new blockbuster drug.

Merck trained drug reps to dodge questions from doctors about the safety of the drug, another example of their negligence and lack of concern for the public's well-being.

In a misleading 2001 letter to doctors, the company clearly understated the risks of taking Vioxx. Merck even produced a game called "dodgeball" to teach pharmaceutical representatives how to avoid answering tough questions about their new blockbuster drug. And if doctors weren't deterred by this tactic, internal documents showed that Merck worked to discredit these doctors.

It's obvious that the CEO of Merck was paying a great deal of attention to promoting the sales of Vioxx because it was critical to their bottom line. The jury in the trial sent a clear message to Merck that they should have been paying equal or more attention to ensuring that Vioxx was safe for patients.

As the jurors themselves have noted, the $229 million in punitive damages that they awarded was not a random figure pulled out of thin air. It was the amount that Merck officials estimated the company would save by delaying changes to the drug's warning label.

In addition to punitive damages, the jury also awarded $24 million in compensatory damages.

Merck Withdraws Arthritis Drug Vioxx

If you believe that you or a loved one has been adversely affected by Vioxx, please fill out the form below. Provide as much information as possible to speed the processing of your inquiry.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck & Co. (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it would be withdrawing its arthritis drug Vioxx globally after a colon cancer trial confirmed long-standing concerns that the drug raises the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Merck's shares plunged in pre-market trading after the announcement.

A recent study by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggested patients taking Vioxx faced a 50 percent greater risk of heart attacks and sudden cardiac death than those taking Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) rival Celebrex treatment.

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