Re: Re: Vioxx lawsuit....any bets on this outcome?

[Guest guest]

That is really sad. I wonder what it is about some of us that causes us to react to certain drugs. I took Vioxx before knee surgery and it was the most effective drug I had ever taken. I might have been ok because it was short term usage. I can’t tolerate many other drugs.

Kenda

That's so sad, Lynda. I hope she is off it now and trying to

reverse the damage, if she can. I hope that there are ways to heal

from this exposure. Each time I hear of stuff like this, my

objection to pharmaceuticals just gets stronger and stronger.

Everybody wants to find magic in a pill...I just don't believe there

is such a thing.

I know certain drugs are needed for certain conditions (as in an

acute bacterial infection or life threatening infections), but for

chronic conditions, drugs scare me. I think they do more damage in

the long term, for such short term benefits.

Patty

> >So here we are again.....can anyone guess what is going to happen

on

> >appeal with this one?

> >I can take a good guess...there's a good chance it will look like

the

> >breast implant litigation all over again...

> >

>

><http://news./s/nm/health_merck_vioxx_dc>http://news..

com/s/nm/health_merck_vioxx_dc

> >Texas Jury awards $253 mln in Vioxx trial

> >

> >By Matt Daily Fri Aug 19, 6:34 PM ET

> >

> >ANGLETON, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas jury on Friday found drug

maker Merck

> > & Co. Inc.

> >

(NYSE:<http://us.rd./dailynews/finance/nm/bs_nm/storytext/he

alth_merck_vioxx_dc/16156331/*http://finance./q?

s=mrk & d=t>MRK

> >-

>

><http://us.rd./dailynews/biz/nm/bs_nm/storytext/health_merc

k_vioxx_dc/16156331/*http://biz./n/m/mrk.html>news)

> >negligent in the death of a man taking its popular

> >painkiller <http://search.news./search/news/?

p=Vioxx>Vioxx

> >and awarded his widow $253 million in the first of thousands of

Vioxx

> >lawsuits to go to trial.

> >The stunning verdict was certain to 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 charging that the company

hid the

> >drug's' health risks.

> >

> >Merck pulled the drug off the market in September last year,

saying its

> >long-term usage could double users' risks of heart attack or

stroke.

> >

> >Merck shares fell $2.35, or 7.73 percent, to $28.06 and put a

damper on

> >the Dow, which ended up just 4.3 points to 10559.23.

> >

> >The case filed by widow Carol Ernst charged that Vioxx had caused

her

> >husband, Ernst, a 59-year-old marathoner, to die of a

heart attack

> >in 2001.

> >

> >Merck disputed the accusation, saying Ernst died of irregular

heartbeat

> >and clogged arteries, but the 12-member jury in Texas state court

awarded

> >$24 million to Carol Ernst for mental anguish and loss of

companionship

> >and $229 million in punitive damages.

> >

> >Merck attorney Skidmore said the company would appeal

the

> >decision, but estimated that even if it is upheld the punitive

damages

> >would be trimmed to less than $2 million.

> >

> >Texas law limits punitive awards to two times economic damage --

in this

> >case $450,000 -- plus up to another $750,000. There is no

financial limit

> >for loss of companionship and mental anguish.

> >

> >At the reading of the verdict in the six-week-long trial, the

courtroom

> >erupted in an uproar and Ernst broke into tears. Her lawyer, Mark

Lanier,

> >leaped up and shouted " Amen. "

> >

> > " They knew and could see what the truth was, " she told reporters.

> >

> >Lanier urged Merck to settle the pending Vioxx lawsuits, not

fight them.

> >

> > " Merck sure ought to come to the table and accept its

responsibility, " he

> >said. Lanier vowed to file more lawsuits against Merck and " pound

them again. "

> >

> >Merck general counsel Frazier said the company believes

it has

> > " strong points to raise on appeal " and would fight on, not settle.

> >

> > " There are other Vioxx cases coming to trial, and we will

vigorously

> >defend them one by one over the coming years, " he said.

> >

> >Skidmore said Merck's appeal would be based on, among other

things,

> >scientific arguments.

> >

> > " There is no reliable scientific evidence that shows Vioxx causes

cardiac

> >arrhythmia, which an autopsy showed was the cause of Mr. Ernst's

death, "

> >he said.

> >

> >Juror Derick Chizer, 43, said the jury, which deliberated almost

two days,

> >knew their award would probably be cut, but felt Merck needed a

jolt to

> >change its ways.

> >

> > " That ($229 million award) was a message to them, " he said.

> >

> >The arthritis drug 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.

> >

> >Vioxx is the trade name for rofecoxib, part of a class of drugs

> >called <http://search.news./search/news/?

p=NSAIDs>NSAIDs. A

> >type of painkiller known as a COX-2 inhibitor, it was touted as a

pain and

> >inflammation reliever that did not cause ulcers or

gastrointestinal

> >bleeding, a side effect of many NSAIDs.

> >

> >Due to the pending lawsuits, Merck, based in Whitehouse, New

Jersey, said

> >at the end of last year it had set aside $675 million to help

cover legal

> >costs.

> >

> >Wall Street analysts, who have been closely watching the case in

Angleton,

> >a small town about 40 miles south of Houston, say Merck's

liability in all

> >the cases could run into billions of dollars.

> >

> > " It's clearly a 10- to 12-year problem, " said LeCroy, an

analyst at

> >Natexis Bleichroeder. " It will cost them at least $1 billion a

year for

> >the next 10 years. "

> >

> >Lawyer Jerry Reisman, a class action attorney in Garden City, New

York,

> >said the case also may prompt many more lawsuits.

> >

> > " If the Ernst family is successful in this suit, Merck will find

others

> >piling on and joining class action suits, " he said.

> >

> > " This case can send shock waves through the pharmaceutical

industry. "

> >(Additional reporting by Davies and Herb Lash in New York,

Deena

> >Beasley in Los Angeles, Erwin Seba and Mark Babineck in Houston)

> >

> >__________________________________________________

> >