Personal injury attorneys representing clients who have allegedly been harmed by the prescription drug Vioxx are congratulating themselves over a historic judgment rendered recently. On August 19, 2005, a judge awarded the family of Bob Ernst $253.4 million due to his death from the drug. Vioxx, which had been prescribed most often for arthritis pain, was withdrawn globally by its maker, Merck, after research trials showed it increased patients’ chances of a heart attack. Although Merck pulled the drug off the market in September 2004, legal action against this leading pharmaceutical giant will continue and expand. Lets take a look at why Vioxx has become a litigation lightning rod.
In 1998 as Merck was running clinical trials for Vioxx, company reports to the FDA stated that there were no cardiovascular signals apparent. This meant that there were no telltale signs that the drug could cause heart problems for users. Later, however, it was revealed that an internal study conducted by Merck around the same time Study 090 revealed serious cardiovascular problems as compared to patients not taking Vioxx. The study was never published by Merck as the company...