Vioxx Trial in Texas Expected to Be at Least Five Weeks Before Jury Verdict

Merck & Co. is currently engaged in the first trial of a lawsuit involving Vioxx, and there are thousands of similar Vioxx lawsuits lined-up to follow.  This first Vioxx trial is taking place in a state court located in Brazoria County, Texas.  The plaintiff in this Vioxx case is the widow of Robert Ernst, who died in 2001 after taking Vioxx for about six months for pain from arthritis in his hand.  Mr. Ernst, 59-years-old at the time of his death, was an avid runner with no history of heart problems according to the plaintiff’s attorney.

Opening statements in the Ernst Vioxx trial took place late last week, with witness testimony starting this past Monday, July 18, 2005.  It is anticipated that the testimony stage of the Ernst trial will last at least five weeks.  Thereafter, the plaintiff’s attorney and the lawyers for Merck will make their respective closing arguments before the case goes to the jury for determination of a verdict for this first Vioxx trial.

The Ernst case in Texas is the first of more than 3,800 Vioxx lawsuits that have been filed to date against the Merck which await trial.  Merck — most notably through various statements made by its Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Kenneth C. Frazier — has said that it will fight each of these Vioxx cases on an individual basis, suggesting that Merck will take to trial, rather than settle, the increasing number of Vioxx lawsuits. 

Merck pulled Vioxx off the market worldwide in September 2004.  At the time, Merck said it had just become aware that Vioxx increased the risk of heart attack and stroke.  Merck has consistently denied trial-lawyer allegations that the drug company hid its knowledge about the risks of heart attacks and strokes caused by Vioxx for several years before the September 2004 Vioxx recall.

(Posted by: Tom Lamb)