Federal Vioxx Retrial in Jury's Hands

By Dave Wilson

Published on February 17, 2006

The plaintiff, Evelyn Irvin Plunkett, claims that Vioxx contributed to the death of her husband, Richard "Dickie" Irvin, a manager at a seafood distributor in St. Augustine, Fla. Mr. Irvin suffered a fatal heart attack at work in 2001.

The first trial, which was held in Houston after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, ended in a hung jury. The jurors could not reach a unanimous decision, and the judge declared a mistrial after warning them that sufficient time had passed.

Lawyers for Irvin's widow contended that Merck misled consumers about the safety of Vioxx and claimed that the painkiller contributed to the fatal heart attack of her husband. Merck's attorneys countered that Irvin's death was caused by risk factors related to an unhealthy lifestyle.

The outcome of this federal trial may foreshadow the prospects of success for the thousands of Vioxx lawsuits pending in state and federal courts.

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