Merck May Settle Some Vioxx Lawsuits

By Dave Wilson

Published on September 07, 2005

Representatives of Merck, who originally stated that the drug company would fight each and every case brought against it, backtracked somewhat after a Texas jury awarded $253 million to a widow who claimed her husband died as a result of taking Vioxx. The number of lawsuits against Merck has swelled to over 5,000 since the first Vioxx trial verdict was announced last month.

While the makers of Vioxx have maintained their position that the drug had nothing to do with the death of Robert Ernst, and do plan to appeal the decision, Merck may now decide to settle those lawsuits that seem to have strong cases.

A Merck spokesman stated that the company would only review those cases in which the plaintiff had taken Vioxx for 18 months or longer and had suffered a heart attack or stroke. The company said it would not settle those cases where a claimant had many factors predisposing him or her to such an event.

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