If you or a family member has taken VIOXX and then suffered a heart attack or stroke, you may be entitled to compensation. CLICK HERE
Knowledge is Power.
We can Help.
March 4, 2007 (VIOXX Lawsuits | VIOXX Trial News | Humeston v. Merck)
New Jersey VIOXX Jury Finds Merck Failed to Warn of VIOXX Risks, Violated Consumer Statutes, A state court jury in Atlantic City, N.J. today found that Merck & Co., Inc. failed to provide an adequate warning to prescribing physicians about an increased risk of heart attacks from VIOXX prior to September 2001. At the same time, the jury found that the Company violated a state consumer statute, but has not yet assessed damages.
March 1, 2007 (VIOXX Lawsuits | VIOXX Trial News | Schwaller v. Merck)
Opening statements are slated to continue today in Madison County, Where jurors are hearing a lawsuit filed over the arthritis medicine called Vioxx. Patricia Schwaller of Granite City died of a heart attack in 2003, about 20 months after she apparently began taking Vioxx. Her husband is suing pharmaceutical giant Merck, which pulled the drug off the market in 2004 after research showed it increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. Schwaller's family says Merck didn't adequately warn of Vioxx's potential risks.
February 28, 2007 (VIOXX Lawsuits | VIOXX Trial News | Schwaller v. Merck)
Vioxx Lawyers Shape Case for Jurors in Opening Arguments, Opening arguments are underway in the Metro East's first Vioxx trial. Plaintiff's attorney Andy D. Birchfield, Jr. of Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles in Montgomery, Ala., told the jury that he will introduce evidence that Vioxx caused heart attacks. "Merck worked hard to keep the truth quiet," Birchfield said. He told the jury that there are multiple studies that show Vioxx can cause heart attacks.
February 27, 2007 (VIOXX Lawsuits | VIOXX Trial News | Schwaller v. Merck)
Defense Attorney Interviews VIOXX Jurors, "The loss of a mother and a wife is a very tragic thing," Merck attorney Dan Ball of Bryan Cave told potential jurors during a two-hour "voir dire" session in Madison County's Vioxx trial Tuesday afternoon. "It's okay to have sympathy," he said. "I have sympathy, but there is another side to the story," Ball added when asking a panel of 73 jurors if they agree that there are two sides to every story.
February 22, 2007 (VIOXX Lawsuits | VIOXX Trial News | Schwaller v. Merck)
VIOXX Lawyers Strategize over Evidence in Madison County Trial, When lawyers present opening arguments in Madison County's first Vioxx trial next week jurors will for the first time get a feel for what is expected to be a spellbinding five-week trial. But much of the posturing and strategizing critical to each side's case will have already taken place. Madison County Circuit Judge Daniel Stack held a four-hour hearing Feb. 20 on "motions in limine," ruling on what evidence may or may not be introduced to the jury.
February 21, 2007 (VIOXX Lawsuits | VIOXX Trial News | Schwaller v. Merck)
Jury Selection Begins in Major VIOXX Case, A crowd of potential jurors got their first look Tuesday at one of the more high-profile cases to be tried in Madison County in recent years. Circuit Judge Dan Stack spent a brief period questioning a field of 73 jury members in the first Midwest trial over the once-celebrated painkiller Vioxx. The pool was so large because many people are expected to be excluded before a jury is officially impaneled. That's due in part to the length of the trial, which is estimated at four to six weeks. Some 20 would-be jurors Tuesday asked to be let go because of health conditions or the sheer commitment of being in court every day for that time.
February 20, 2007 (VIOXX Lawsuits | VIOXX Trial News | Schwaller v. Merck)
Jury Selection Began Today in Madison County Illinois VIOXX Trial against Merck, The process of picking a jury began Tuesday for a Madison County trial on whether the maker of the painkilling medicine Vioxx withheld information about the drug's risks. For now, Circuit Judge Dan Stack is talking with potential jurors about whether they would be available for a trial that could last more than a month. That phase of the jury selection process is expected to last the rest of the week. Jury selection will begin in earnest on Monday, when Stack will allow attorneys for both sides to begin asking potential jurors questions about their backgrounds and opinions.
February 20, 2007 (VIOXX Lawsuits | VIOXX Trial News | Schwaller v. Merck)
First Midwest VIOXX Trial to Get Underway in Edwardsville, Illinois, More than three years since 52-year-old Patricia Schwaller died of a heart attack, her husband and a pharmaceutical giant are poised to square off in court over whether the former blockbuster painkiller Vioxx caused her death. Jury selection is to begin here Tuesday in the first Midwestern trial over the arthritis medication, which Merck & Co. withdrew in 2004 after research showed it increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Both sides and observers expect the Schwaller case to be closely watched to see for the first time how the legal wrangling over Vioxx plays out in America's heartland.
February 19, 2007 (VIOXX Lawsuits | VIOXX Trial News)
Recent VIOXX Verdicts
By The Associated Press
Some recent outcomes of trials against Merck & Co. and its now-discontinued arthritis treatment VIOXX:
Jan. 18, 2007: In Los Angeles, A hung jury forced a mistrial in the cases of two men who blamed their heart attacks on Vioxx. The men argued that Vioxx was a substantial factor in their heart problems and that Merck failed to give sufficient warning of potential safety hazards of the drug.
Dec. 21, 2006: A judge in a Texas widow's lawsuit over Vioxx reduced a $32 million jury award to about $7.75 million so that it conformed to state law. A state jury in April found Merck liable for the death in 2001 of a 71-year-old man who had a fatal heart attack within a month of taking the since-withdrawn painkiller.
Dec. 15, 2006: In Birmingham, Ala., Merck won its second Vioxx trial in less than a week when jurors rejected the claims of a 57-year-old man who blamed the drug for a 2001 heart attack. The jury deliberated just 90 minutes before siding with Merck in the lawsuit filed in 2005.
Dec. 13, 2006: In New Orleans, a federal jury ruled for Merck in rejecting a claim by a 50-year-old Tennessean who blamed Vioxx for his 2003 heart attack. Jurors answered "no" on a verdict questionnaire when asked if evidence showed that Merck failed to adequately warn the man's doctors of any known risk posed by Vioxx, or that the lack of such a warning was a cause of the man's heart attack.
Nov. 15, 2006: In New Orleans, a federal jury cleared Merck in the 2003 heart attack suffered by a Utah bank credit manager who had taken Vioxx for 10 1/2 months.
Sept. 26, 2006: In New Orleans, a federal jury deliberated three hours after a two-week trial before siding with Merck, finding there wasn't enough evidence to link Vioxx to a Kentucky man's heart attack in 2003.
April 21, 2006: In Rio Grande City, Texas, a state jury deliberated about seven hours over two days before finding Merck liable for the death of a 71-year-old man who had a fatal heart attack within a month of taking Vioxx and ordered the company to pay $32 million. The man had suffered from heart disease for more than 20 years.
February 18, 2007 (VIOXX Lawsuits | VIOXX Trial News | Schwaller v. Merck)
First Midwest Trial over VIOXX Nears Start in Madison County, Beginning this week, pharmaceutical giant Merck will go to court for the first time in the Midwest to defend itself against allegations that it hid the risk of heart attack and stroke caused by its once-celebrated painkiller Vioxx. The lawsuit, claiming that the arthritis medication caused the fatal heart attack of a Granite City woman, is just one of more than 27,000 filed around the country alleging that Merck knew the drug's faults for years before pulling the pills from the market in 2004. Some 20 million Americans are believed to have taken Vioxx for joint aches before a clinical trial revealed a troubling side effect: a sharp increase in the risk of heart attacks or strokes.
January 12, 2007 (VIOXX Lawsuits News)
Lawyers Representing VIOXX Victims in Illinois Dedicated to Continuing Fight Against Merck's Hired Guns, With hundreds of Vioxx product liability cases to sift through, some Madison County judges seem willing to -- as one defense lawyer put it, "halt the gerrymandering of joinder." Merck & Co., Walgreens, and Osco Drugs -- defendants in a myriad of lawsuits brought by plaintiffs claiming heart-related problems from taking the recalled arthritis pain-reliever -- recently filed motions to sever the claims of 10 plaintiffs claiming only one of them is a resident of Madison County. The motions asked Circuit Judge Daniel Stack to separate into single cases those claims and then transfer the plaintiffs with no ties to Madison County on the grounds of forum non conveniens. Stack granted the motions to sever and set a Feb. 7 hearing to rule on the forum issue.
If you or a loved one has been hurt by VIOXX , you need a lawyer.
CLICK HERE to be taken to our VIOXX site HurtbyaBadDrug.com.
Get a Lawyer for Your VIOXX Lawsuit Today!
VIOXX Timeline | Chronology of Key Events
2005
Aug. 19, 2005 - Merck is found negligent in the marketing and design of Vioxx and is ordered to pay $229 million in punitive damages and $24 million for mental anguish and loss of companionship to the widow of a Texas man. The total award is expected to be cut to about $26 million because of Texas laws limiting damages.
Nov. 3, 2005 - Merck is exonerated in a New Jersey lawsuit involving a man who suffered a heart attack after taking Vioxx but survived. The case was the first tried of thousands of cases filed against Merck in the state.
Dec. 8, 2005 - The New England Journal of Medicine says Merck deleted dangers linked to Vioxx, including three heart attack deaths among users, in its analysis of the VIGOR study.
Dec. 12, 2005 - A U.S. judge declares a mistrial in the first federal lawsuit after a jury fails to reach a unanimous verdict in a case brought by the widow of a Florida man. The case is expected to be retried in 2006.
2004
Sept. 27, 2004 - Merck tells the FDA a study to see if Vioxx could prevent colon polyps showed twice the risk of heart attacks among patients taking Vioxx for 18 months as those who took placebos.
Sept. 28, 2004 - FDA officials meet with Merck, which tells the agency it will voluntarily withdraw Vioxx. Two days later Merck announces the withdrawal.
Nov. 18, 2004 - Congress holds hearing on Merck and the FDA's handling of the drug's safety issues.
2002
April 11, 2002 - FDA approves changes to Vioxx label which include cardiovascular risks, gastrointestinal benefits and a new use to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
2001
Feb. 2001 - FDA Arthritis Advisory Committee meets to discuss the gastrointestinal VIGOR study.
2000
March 2000 - Merck unveils data from Alzheimer's trials, which it said showed no difference in heart problems between patients on Vioxx and others taking a placebo.
June 2000 - Merck submits to the FDA final data from the VIGOR study, which it said showed a decrease in gastrointestinal problems but a four-fold higher risk of heart attacks compared with naproxen.
1999
Jan. 1999 - Vioxx Gastrointestinal Outcomes Research (VIGOR) trial begins, aiming to show whether Vioxx causes fewer ulcers and other gastrointestinal problems than the standard arthritis treatment naproxen.
*Feb. 1999 - Merck begins first clinical trial of Vioxx to see whether it can treat Alzheimer's disease. A second trial begins in April 2000.
May 20, 1999 - FDA approves Vioxx for the relief of osteoarthritis symptoms, management of acute pain and primary dysmenorrhea, or painful menstruation.
1998
*Nov. 1998 - Merck files an application with the FDA seeking U.S. approval of Vioxx.
For past VIOXX news, visit our VIOXX News Archive page.
