Interesting to note that Judge Higbee – the New Jersey judge who presided over the most recent Vioxx trial – is now asking the lawyers on both sides to try ten new Vioxx cases involving victims who took the drug for at least 18 months. Merck has admitted that 18 months of usage is dangerous – so this will eliminate one of their defenses.
Plaintiff attorneys say that at least 40% of the cases filed to date involve situations where the victim took Vioxx for at least 18 months. Notably the plaintiffs in both of the two cases that have already been tried had not taken it that long
Maybe the courts are going to try to bring the Vioxx litigation to a head…
