N.J. Supreme Court Upholds $4.5 Million Vioxx Award

The widow of a man who suffered a heart attack and died in 2007 after taking the painkiller Vioxx can keep the $4.5 million in damages the drug’s maker was ordered to pay, the New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled.

The decision by the state’s highest court to dismiss the last appeal filed by Merck & Co. effectively ends that last disputed case involving injuries caused by Vioxx. The blockbuster drug was approved in 1999 but pulled from the United States market in 2004 after studies found it more than doubled the risks of heart attack and stroke.

From 1999 through 2003, Vioxx was blamed for causing more than 27,000 heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths in the U.S.

The state Supreme Court’s ruling was actually issued back in May, but it only was reported this week. Merck said it is still reviewing its options, including a possible appeal.

Vioxx Award Reduced on Appeals

Vioxx user John McDarby died in 2007 after suffering a heart attack while on the drug he had been taking for four years. His widow, Irma McDarby, originally was awarded nearly $14 million for his death, but the award was later trimmed through various appeals to $3 million for pain and suffering and $1.5 million for her loss of companionship and other damages.

McDarby’s lawsuit was excluded from the $4.85 billion settlement Merck agreed to pay to thousands of Vioxx patients who sued the company alleging the drug caused them to suffer heart attack, stroke, and other injuries.

Attorneys for McDarby, who died while his 2006 financial award was being appealed, said they were satisfied with the resolution of the appeals, but also saddened that their client never lived to see the case end.

“Although we are thrilled to finally see this measure of justice for the McDarby family, we are saddened by the fact that Mr. McDarby did not survive the delays in the appellate process,” Jerry Kristal, one of the family’s lawyers, said in the statement.

Merck still faces 18 suits filed by governmental agencies, including those by 10 states attorneys general, alleging the company broke state consumer-protection laws with its marketing of Vioxx, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger.

No related posts.