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.
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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.
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9 comments:
This kinda stuff really bothers me. No about of money in this whole world would ever replace the death of a loved one. So why don't the families just leave the companies alone. No matter what you do, or take it could be subject to cause your death. We take risks everyday. EVERYBODY IS LOOKING TO MAKE A BUCK OR TWO!! WE ARE TOO SUE HAPPY!!!!
It's Robert Earl Keen, not Keene. I've got all his CD's. Wahoo!
I agree with anon #1. A jury of our peers (they picked this county because they have been sympathetic in lawsuits in the past) gets to decide what the real cause of death was and how much should be given to compensate for that death. I know a lot of it is punitive damages but why should the victims family get that money?
The bottom line is we all pay for this abuse!
Yea! I agree with anon #2. Why should some family who lost a Father/Brother/husband get any monetary compensation from some pharmacutical company (MERCK)making MILLIONS of $$$$$ off of a drug which, by their own admission, increases the chance of the consumer of said drug having a massive fatal heart attack? Besides, don't you know that BUSH said if it is good for the company, it is good for the Nation? HELL, LET'S GIVE SOME TO EVERYBODY! After we all die, MERCK won't have to worry about being sued! Besides, we all know is just those damn trial layers causing all the problems!
You missed my points Wizard.
Point 1 - Don't let some guy who doesn't know the difference between Tylenol and Advil decide if this drug is bad.
Point 2 - Don't give out millions of dollars just because someone died. Replace his pay and cover cost, but he was going to die sooner or later so why give her a ton of money. Cap the lawyers’ part also so they will stop asking for the billion dollar settlements.
Point 3 - A big complaint is the cost of prescriptions, and we wonder why.
Merck will end up going broke while this lady's attorney will retire.
One other comment on this drug. I suffer from arthritis and have been around many other sufferers over the years. When talk came about that Vioxx might be taken off the market, the general consensus that I heard was that people would rather take the chance on heart problems than giving up the drug which was enabling many to have a somewhat normal existence. I personally couldn't take it - it upset my stomach. ........
If other people were able to take the drug and not have a fatal heart attack then it wasn't just the drug that caused the problem.
OK I couldn't hold back. For all of y'all who believe in tort reform and voted to limit medical malpractice damages and now judge a south Texas jury - I wonder how much your health insurance premium, your doctor visits, your hospital stays have gone down since you gave away your rights. The answer is none. What a bill of goods y'all were sold. I look at a big verdict like that and think "man, what incriminating documents those hardworking plaintiff lawyers came up with!" Funny, that people with these opinions always think THEIR lawsuit isn't frivolous when something happens to them or their loved ones. CHEERS to this jury for sending a whopper of a message to that evil pharmaceutical company.
I lost count but the anon who said that Merck will end up going broke.... you really can't believe that? If you do I am sorry, you need to look a little closer at the price you pay for meds and what they cost to make. Most of them are marked up about 600-800%
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