The jury in Rio Grande City (population 11,923 - so more of a village, really) , Texas is set to hear closing arguments and begin deliberations in another of the almost 10,000 lawsuits alleging Merck was responsible for heart attacks in people taking its painkiller Vioxx.
Of the four trials decided in the country so far, two juries have found the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company liable, ordering the company to pay $253.4 million and $13.5 million respectively. Two have found the company not responsible.
The family of 71-year-old Leonel Garza, who died of a heart attack within a month of taking Vioxx for his arm pain in 2001, are asking for $1 billion in its lawsuit against Merck.
Merck lawyers argue that the attack was the end result of 23 years of heart disease and that Garza only took the drug for a week, too short a period of time to bring on a heart attack.
Family attorneys counter that Garza's veins had been cleared and that a stress test shortly before he died showed less than a 2 percent risk of a fatal heart attack within a year. They said he had taken the drug for at least a full month.
Insiders' view: too close to call. The short duration of treatment vs the plaintiff friendly people in this poor area could confound predictions.
Source:AP
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