Unsafe Drugs: Did Merck Hide Drug's Risks?

A lawyer told jurors that drug-manufacturer Merck ignored warnings and tried to cover up risks associated with Vioxx. These claims came during the opening statements of Andy Birchfield, who is an attorney for Patricia Schwaller, who died in August 2003 from a heart attack after taking Vioxx for 20 months. The case has drawn nationwide attention thus far because tort reform activists say that the case is being heard in one of the worst venues for corporate defendants.

Merck Hid Drug's Risks, Lawyer Says in Trial Here

Merck pulled Vioxx from the market in 2004 after a study linked Vioxx, a Cox-2 inhibitor, to a significant increase in risk for heart attack. Merck has long denied liability and says they will fight each of the 27,000 suits against the company. Schwaller's family is expected to ask for tens of millions of dollars in damages. "She should not have been taking Vioxx," Birchfield told the jurors. "She wouldn't have been (taking it) if Merck had done the right thing."