A Texas appeals court on Thursday reversed a 2005 judgment against Merck & Co. (MRK) in the case of a woman who alleged her husband's use of the pain drug Vioxx caused his death.
The jury had awarded Carol Ernst $253.5 million in damages in the first Vioxx lawsuit to go to trial. The jury had concluded Merck's design and marketing of Vioxx was defective, and that its negligence caused the 2001 death of Bob Ernst. The damages award was subsequently reduced to $26.1 million under state law capping damages.
Merck appealed the judgment, arguing there wasn't sufficient evidence supporting the jury's verdict. That led to Thursday's reversal by Texas' Fourteenth Court of Appeals. The court concluded there was no evidence that Bob Ernst suffered a "thrombotic cardiovascular event," or heart attack triggered by a blood clot.
Apparently there is some controversy about whether Merck settled prematurely with other plaintiffs (to the tune of $4.85 billion).
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