VioxxResourceCenter.org

Vioxx Lawsuit Update

The first wrongful death trial over Vioxx, Merck & Co. Inc.’s pain reliever drug, will most likely be held in Texas in July of this year. In the Texas case, Carol Ernst alleges that Vioxx caused the death of her 59-year old husband in 2001.

Vioxx litigation will continue with a second trial scheduled for August 1, 2005 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In that case, vioxx attorney Christopher Seeger alleges that Vioxx caused his client’s heart attack in 2001. His client, Michael Humeston, claims to still have lingering effects from the heart attack.

In early May, a state judge in Alabama postponed what was scheduled to be the first Vioxx trial on May 23rd. The trial was postponed so it would not interfere with federal vioxx litigation and no new date for the trial has been given.

Also in May, a Frederick County Maryland woman brought suit against Merck & Co. Inc., alleging that Vioxx caused her husband’s fatal heart arrhythmia only days after he began taking the medication for sciatic nerve pain. Lisa Matthews said her husband, who was 42, did not have any previous heart problems. The case is expected to be tried in the federal courts, where much of the current vioxx litigation will be heard.

Currently over 2,300 personal Vioxx lawsuits and 200 Vioxx class action lawsuits have been filed against Merck. The cases are in the pretrial discovery phase, a long process. During discovery, Merck must provide relevant vioxx information such as millions of documents and memos, to plaintiffs, while plaintiffs must provide written information about their cases to Merck. At the same time, attorneys for both sides must conduct interviews with people whom they think may have relevant information. To avoid having people answer the same questions over and over, a federal panel of judges have decided to centralize the federal discovery process under Judge Eldon E. Fallon of the Federal District Court of New Orleans. Judge Fallon will define the basic questions of law and science that Vioxx jurors will have to answer in all federal cases. After that, each case will be returned to the courts where they were originally filed for trial.

S.E. Krieg : ©2005 VioxxResourceCenter.org