Vioxx Maker Fights Each Case
More than 45,000 people have sued the company that makes the painkiller Vioxx, yet none has received any cash from judgments.
Merck & Co. has taken an aggressive stance, spending more than $1 billion to fight the cases and force plaintiffs to go to trial, the New York Times reports. So far, the tactic is paying off. The company has won most of the cases tried and is appealing its losses, keeping money out of plaintiffs’ hands until the cases are resolved.
The company’s general counsel, Kenneth Frazier, is considered the architect of the litigation strategy. He has since been promoted to president of the global human health division.
One of the plaintiffs is Carol Ernst, who won a $253.5 million judgment, automatically reduced under Texas law to $26.1 million, for the death of her husband.
“Merck’s goal is to manipulate the legal system to deprive justice to tens of thousands of people whose cases can never be heard,” said Ernst’s lawyer, Mark Lanier. “Justice delayed is justice denied.”
