8.19.2005

Let's Rethink That Strategy

The first lawsuit over the pain killer Vioxx came to an end this afternoon in the Plaintiff friendly confines of South Texas. A jury awarded the family of Robert Keene (not that Robert Earl Keene) over $250 million in finding that the drug caused his death by a heart attack. There are over 4,000 of such lawsuits pending. Up until now, Merck & Co., the maker of the drug, claimed it would fight every claim "one by one" all the way to a jury.