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November 22, 2008 4:56:06 AM CST

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Court Tosses $32M Verdict Against Vioxx

Posted May 14, 08 1:29 PM CDT in Science & Health,  Business 

(Newser) – A Texas appellate court threw out a $32 million verdict against Merck today, citing a lack of evidence that Vioxx contributed to a man’s fatal heart attack. Lionel Garza was taking the painkiller when he died in 2001 at age 71, but was also a smoker with high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Garza case was decided by verdict in 2006, and was excluded from a recent $4.85 billion settlement for 27,000 Vioxx cases.

Source Wall Street Journal

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Vioxx is arranged on a counting tray, laying on top of the bottle, at The Pennington Apothecary in a Pennington, N.J. file photo from Sept. 30, 2004.   (AP Photo/Daniel Hulshizer, File)
Chart shows annual money Merck has set aside for Vioxx litigation.   (AP Photo)
Attorney Jere Beasley is pictured in his Montgomery, Ala., office on Thursday, March 20, 2008. Beasley's firm helped negotiate a 4.8 billion dollar settlement with Merck over Vioxx claims.   (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
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lawsuit • pharmaceutical industry • painkiller • Vioxx • Merck and Co.


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