FACTBOX -- Vioxx lawsuits against Merck

Last Updated: 2006-04-05 16:00:15 -0400 (Reuters Health)

(Reuters) - A jury in the latest trial against drug maker Merck & Co. Inc. is deliberating the case of two New Jersey men who blame the withdrawn pain drug for their heart attacks. Merck is facing more than 10,000 product liability cases claiming the company hid the painkiller's health risks.

Below is a summary of the current and prior cases.

-- March 2006, Atlantic City, New Jersey. The current case, being argued in New Jersey Superior Court, is significant because it is the first to involve long-term use of the medication. Merck pulled the $2.5 billion-a-year drug from the market in 2004 after a study showed it doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes, in people who used it for at least 18 months.

-- February 2006, New Orleans, Louisiana. In the first federal trial, a jury in New Orleans found Merck was not liable for the 2001 death of a Florida man who used Vioxx for less than a month.

Evelyn Irvin Plunkett alleged her husband Richard Irvin Jr., the manager of a wholesale seafood business in St. Augustine, Florida, died at the age of 53 from a heart attack a month after he started taking Vioxx for back pain on April 15, 2001.

-- November 2005, Atlantic City, New Jersey. A jury in state court said Merck gave doctors adequate warnings about possible health risks and did not commit consumer fraud. Plaintiff Mike Humeston claimed he suffered a heart attack after taking Vioxx for a strained knee for about two months.

The jury deliberated for just over one day.

-- August, 20005, Angleton, Texas. Merck was found negligent in the marketing and design of Vioxx and ordered to pay $229 million in punitive damages and $24 million for mental anguish and loss of companionship to the widow of a Texas man. Marathon runner and plaintiff Robert Ernst took the drug for about eight months. The jury deliberated for about two days.

The total award is set to be cut because of a Texas law limiting damages.