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Added September 20th, 2006

A new trial has been ordered for a retired FBI agent who sued Merck, the manufacturers of the controversial painkiller Vioxx, and was awarded $50 million in compensation. A federal judge ruled earlier this week that the award was grossly excessive and that in order to determine damages for the plaintiff a new trial must be arranged.
The retired agent, Gerald Barnett, filed the lawsuit alleging that he suffered a heart attack in 2002 as a result of taking Vioxx, which can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. However, District Judge Eldon E. Fallon stated that no reasonable jury could have found that he was entitled to such a large sum.
Merck will still be held liable for the heart attack that Barnett suffered due to taking Vioxx, as the jury in the original trial found that Merck "knowingly misrepresented or failed to disclose" information about the increased risk of heart attack to the plaintiffs doctors.
The judge wrote: "All three of the plaintiff's claims revolve around the safety risks of Vioxx, what Merck knew about any such risks, when Merck knew this information and what Merck should have done about it." However, he added that the compensation that was awarded was "excessive under any conceivable standard of excessiveness."

New Vioxx Trial... | Printable Version (Opens In New Window)