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His lawyer was to give his summation to the jury Tuesday , after which jurors will begin deliberations.The closing arguments capped a seven-week trial focusing on the troubled painkiller and its alleged role in Humeston 's heart attack.Its outcome has high stakes for Merck , which lost the first product liability trial over Vioxx and could face tens of thousands more lawsuits.Speaking in a hushed courtroom packed with plaintiff 's lawyers , Wall Street analysts and reporters , Sullivan led off by showing jurors a slide presentation noting the conclusions of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration , which said earlier this year that Vioxx and other so-called Cox-2 inhibitors have no risks of heart attack and stroke in short-term use . The woodcuts were to be done by Robert Seymour , a celebrated illustrator , and the series was intended to jumpstart Seymour 's flagging career - - but instead it marked the birth of the sensational publishing phenomenon that was Charles Dickens . Attorneys are taking that kickoff to be the day Merck withdrew its $ 2.5 billion-a-year arthritis pill from the market , Sept. 30 2004.States with a one-year filing deadline include Kentucky , Louisiana and Tennessee , according to Cherry Hill lawyer Mike Ferrara , who filed 48 suits in time to make the Sept. 30 deadline.New York attorney Gary Douglas filed eight cases in New Jersey and 72 others in federal courts — which follow their states ' deadlines — under the wire.Seeger , Ferrara and Douglas said that given the huge backlog in New Jersey , Higbee — who is overseeing every New Jersey case — needs to assign some to other judges and Merck must agree to settle the bulk of them . " Some people will shy away from such cases if they do n't know the documents and the science , " Birchfield said.Juror Nellie Stetzer said Merck 's highlighting of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration report saying that Cox-2 inhibitors , the class of drugs which includes Vioxx , do n't cause heart attacks with short-term use stuck in her mind . Our study will include literary work written in Irish ( we 'll read it in translation ) as well as the work of expatriated writers such as Oscar Wilde , the Dublin-born aesthete who found fame - - and , finally , shame - - writing for the London stage , and James Joyce , whose career depended on his decision to abandon Ireland for the Continent in 1904 . The personal timelines revealed that the stakeholders care greatly about life-cycle events such as births and deaths of key people , religious rites , marriages , children , their connection to Philadelphia , educational achievements , and career achievements - - and that the group generally lacked ethnic , racial , and educational diversity , which became a theme of the meeting . John Michael Gaziano , a Harvard Medical School professor , said low-dose use of the Cox-2 inhibitors such as Vioxx confers no more risk on users than use of dummy pills . " New Jersey is the most popular state venue because Merck cannot move cases in its home state to federal court , which plaintiff lawyers view as less friendly.Like most states , New Jersey has a two-year statute of limitations , with the clock starting when the plaintiff first knew he or she had reason to sue . The drugs block the Cox-2 enzyme that promotes inflammation , but protect the stomach lining , unlike other anti-inflammatory drugs.There is no proof that either short-term or long-term use of the now-withdrawn painkiller leads to increased risk of serious cardiovascular complications , according to Gaziano , one of Merck 's final witnesses in the seven-week trial . Merck in August lost its first product liability case in Texas over the death of another Vioxx user , and 5,000 similar lawsuits are pending.Merck voluntarily pulled the drug from the market a year ago after its own study found that more than 18 months of Vioxx use could double the risk of heart attack and stroke.Higbee said the court had not been made aware of the nature of Morrison 's testimony in advance.The judge 's actions went beyond the request Humeston 's lawyers made Thursday to strike only Morrison 's testimony about certain animal studies.Higbee called for a brief break after her ruling . " That is the most important fact in this case , " said Sullivan.Cox-2 drugs inhibit the Cox-2 enzyme , which promotes inflammation , but protect users against stomach bleeding and ulcers , unlike other anti-inflammatory drugs.Agreeing with Humeston 's lawyers that the best evidence in the case was Humeston himself , Sullivan insisted his physical condition he had elevated blood pressure , was overweight and was under stress from a dispute with his U.S. Postal Service bosses triggered the Sept. 18 , 2001 heart attack , not Vioxx.She said there was doubt whether Humeston took the drug on the night of his heart attack , as he testified.Humeston had been given a 30-pill Vioxx prescription in May 2001 but did n't use it all because he said it was n't working for him .