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What is the current status of the litigation against Merck in relation to the drug Vioxx?
Evelyn Plunket, is a plaintiff in a case against Merck involving the painkiller Vioxx, in Houston, TX. Ms. Plunket is arguing that the
pain reliever taken for one month by her husband for lower back pain caused the 53 year old husband's heart attack and death. Ms.
Plunket's husband died in 2001 while taking the drug Vioxx. He died at age 53.
Whether Merck and companies once-lucrative drug led to his death lies at the center of the third Vioxx-related case in the nation to
face a jury, and the first to due so in federal court. Jury selection began on November 29, 2005. The plaintiff has already presented
her case to the Texas jury and Merck is now presenting their defense to the Texas jury.
A judge overseeing 3500 Vioxx related lawsuits has told lawyers she wants the next 10 or so trials to involve plaintiffs who were
long-users of the drug. A jury verdict from the Texas Federal Court will probably occur in December 2005.
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