[tag=NNP] | [lemma=neurological] [lemma=disorder] [tag=□]
[tag=NNP] | [lemma=neurological] [lemma=disorder] [tag=IN]
[tag=NNP] | [lemma=neurological] [lemma=disorder] [tag=NNP]
The pain reliever was used by 20 million people at some point , partly because it was promoted as easier on the stomach than older anti-inflammatory drugs.Reicin countered that her business role at Merck as chair of the Vioxx Commercialization Committee in 2001 , for example was only to explain the science of the medicine to her nonscientist colleagues . Davis and a handful of other plaintiff 's lawyers are attending the trial in person . Some are Merck consultants.Sam Davis is here - - sizing up the witnesses , jurors , judge and dynamics at play in the trial - - looking for anything that might give him an edge when he gets his day in court . " I saw the Santa Cluas II last night , it was funny and pretty cute . " We expect to oppose any attempt to splinter , to disrupt the operation of the MDL , " Frazier told the analysts , referring to multidistrict litigation in federal court.In the MDL , pretrial evidence-gathering for thousands of Vioxx suits in federal courts is consolidated to save time and prevent Merck officials from having to give repeated depositions.Merck outside counsel Ted Mayer said the company also prefers keeping cases in the MDL because that gives Merck consistent rulings on standards for admitting evidence and for expert testimony.He added that Merck has plenty of legal teams to handle simultaneous trials.Evidence rules in state courts , on the other hand , generally allow plaintiffs more leeway.Lanier said Merck expected to fight most Vioxx cases in federal courts in the MDL , but he expects to have 10 legal teams running state trials nearly continuously , tying up Merck resources.Lanier said his lawyers ' group already has about 20,000 potential lawsuits , with only about 10 percent filed so far.The lawyers will share depositions , documents , legal strategies and focus group opinions , according to Lanier , who in August won a $ 253.4 million verdict for the widow of a Texas Vioxx user in the first case to come to trial.That amount will be reduced to about $ 26 million because Texas caps punitive damages.Merck shares rose 82 cents , or 3.1 percent , to $ 27 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.Whitehouse Station-based Merck withdrew Vioxx from the market in September 2004 after research showed long-term use of the drug doubled risk of heart attack and stroke . " This is a bellwether case , " Davis said . With 100 Vioxx lawsuits already filed and hundreds of other would-be plaintiffs on retainer , Davis , a trial lawyer from Teaneck , 133 miles away , is keenly interested in what happens here . " U.S. Food and Drug Administration drug safety expert David Graham told the Senate Finance Committee last November that research indicates Vioxx caused up to 160,000 heart attacks and strokes.Pharmaceuticals analyst Al Rauch at A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. said the shift in Merck 's position on settlements appears to be a goodwill gesture after the jury in Angleton , Texas , last Friday awarded $ 253.4 million in damages - - likely to be reduced to $ 26 million under Texas caps on punitive damages - - to the widow of Bob Ernst . Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee denied Merck 's motion , saying the company 's defense team had ample opportunity to take a deposition from Lucchesi or challenge his credentials prior to the start of the trial and had not done so.Humeston 's lead attorney , Chris Seeger , then called Lucchesi to the stand and questioned him at length about his expertise in cardiology and pharmacology , the study of drugs and their effects . And you can evaluate the questions they are asking at the end of testimony , " said Davis . " No , " Gertz answered.With the jury out of the courtroom , the attorneys squabbled before Judge Carol E. Higbee about Gertz 's mention of the fact that the drug had been withdrawn from the market . " They did n't say she did , either , " said Horn.The back-and-forth was one of several testy , rapid-fire exchanges in morning testimony , which at one point prompted the court stenographer to ask Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee to stop Tyberg and Horn from talking at the same time.Humeston , 60 , of Boise , Idaho , is one of about 6,500 former Vioxx users suing Merck over the drug , which it pulled off the market in September 2004 after long-term use was linked to increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.Horn also questioned Tyberg about his claim that stress from an ongoing probe of Humeston by U.S. Postal Service investigators helped trigger the heart attack . " The verdict capped a trial centering on Frederick " Mike " Humeston , 60 , of Boise , Idaho , who was stricken two months after he began taking the drug to ease pain from a Vietnam war knee injury.Merck 's lawyers appeared to be fighting a losing battle , repeatedly clashing with Superior Court Judge Carol E. Higbee , who denied key motion requests by them and threw out the testimony of Merck 's first witness on procedural grounds.On five different occasions , Merck asked her to declare a mistrial .