Merck Settles Thousands of Vioxx Claims for $4.85 Billion

Merck & Co., Inc. has agreed to pay $4.85 billion to resolve Vioxx related claims in which a claimant has suffered a heart attack, sudden cardiac death, or stroke.

District Court Orders New Trial in Vioxx Case Based on Misrepresentation by Mercks Expert Cardiologist

Judge Eldon E. Fallon, presiding judge over the federal Vioxx consolidated proceedings, In re Vioxx Products Liability Litigation MDL (No. 1657), ordered a new trial today in Evelyn Irvin Plunkett v. Merck & Co. Judge Fallon, a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, found that there was clear and convincing evidence that during the second trial of the Irvin case, Merck's expert cardiologist, Dr. Barry Rayburn, misrepresented his qualifications to the Court and to the jury.

New Concerns Raised Over Ortho Evra

Hundreds of local women are receiving letters, citing an American College of Gynecology study exposing the greater risk of deep vein thrombosis in women using the Ortho Evra birth control patch.

Celebrex Lawsuit Filed in Tuscaloosa County

The wrongful death complaint was filed in state court by Michael H. Allen, Administrator of the Estate of Nina Earline Ratliff, who was a resident of Tuscaloosa County. Ms. Ratliff died of complications due to Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS), which she developed as a result of taking Celebrex.

New Orleans Jury Returns $51 Million Verdict against Merck

A New Orleans jury in the second Multi-District Litigation (MDL) trial has awarded a $50 million compensatory damage verdict and a $1 million punitive damage verdict against Merck.

Celebrex Case Set for Trial in Alabama State Court

A Celebrex lawsuit has been set for trial on June 6, 2006 for a woman who suffered a stroke at age 53, caused by taking the pain relieving drug, Celebrex. The trial will take place in the Circuit Court of Barbour County in Alabama. It will most likely be the first Celebrex case to be tried in the country.

Judge Sets Court Date for First MDL Vioxx Lawsuit to Go to Trial

Irvin Plunkett v. Merck & Co, Inc., to go to trial among cases pending in the federal Vioxx in New Orleans will begin on November 28, 2005. The announcement was made by Judge Eldon E. Fallon of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, who is presiding over the Vioxx Multi-district Litigation (MDL).

Beasley Allen Calls for Full Disclosure of Confidential Vioxx Documents

Jere Beasley, founding shareholder at the law firm taking the first Vioxx lawsuit to trial in May, Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C, called upon Merck to join him in asking Judge Rochester to lift a protective order which prohibits the release of protected information regarding the drug's dangers

Court Rules against Merck in Attempt to Dismiss First Vioxx Lawsuit to go to Trial

Merck had asked the Court to dismiss the lawsuit, contending that Mr. Rogers, who died of a heart attack after being prescribed Vioxx, never took the drug. Lawyers for Beasley Allen disputed Merck's claims and said that they had evidence that Mr. Rogers took Vioxx before he died.

Beasley Allen Law Firm Files Motion for Sanctions against Merck in Vioxx Lawsuit

"Merck provided depositions of Mrs. Rogers and Dr. William Clancy, who treated her husband, to local and national press on April 12, in violation of the court's protective order. In fact, one reporter had the documents on this date apparently before it was even filed in court."