Closing Arguments in Madison County Vioxx Trial

The first Vioxx trial in Madison County, Illinois, is coming to a close.  Newsday has the AP story on today’s closing arguments:

Attorneys for a widower who claims the painkiller Vioxx contributed to his wife’s 2003 death urged jurors on Monday to punish the maker of the once-blockbuster drug for allegedly failing to adequately warn consumers about potentially deadly side-effects.  During closing arguments, Mikal Watts argued that Merck & Co. ignored or stifled credible warnings that Vioxx could cause cardiovascular problems, including warnings that came well before Patty Schwaller collapsed and died of a heart attack after taking Vioxx for about 20 months. …

Schwaller — who died suddenly Aug. 8, 2003 after returning home with groceries — “shall not have died in vain,” Watts told the Madison County jury in the Midwest’s first trial involving Vioxx.   Citing the company’s own internal e-mails, Watts said Merck failed to adequately study Vioxx’s possible side-effects on people at risk of heart disease and publicly downplayed worries by outside researchers that Vioxx could put users at greater risk of heart attacks or strokes. …

Attorneys for Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., were expected to summarize their cases later Monday before jurors began deliberating.

HME