8 novembre, 2006 19:28

New Trial Begins Over Claims Vioxx Caused Heart Attacks

Opening Statements Scheduled Wednesday

POSTED: 8:35 am PST November 8, 2006

UPDATED: 8:44 am PST November 8, 2006

LOS ANGELES -- Opening statements are scheduled Wednesday in lawsuits by two men who allege they suffered heart attacks after taking the prescription painkiller Vioxx.

The cases of Rudolph Arrigale and Lawrence Appell against Merck and Co. mark the second trial in California involving the drug and the pharmaceutical giant.

On Aug. 2, a jury in the same Los Angeles courtroom rejected a similar claim by Stewart Grossberg of Northridge.

Arrigale was 73 when he had a heart attack in March 2002, four months after he began taking Vioxx, according to his court papers. The heart attack was his second during his lifetime.

Appell, now 57, was 51 when he had a heart attack in December 2000 after taking Vioxx for 18 months, according to his lawsuit.

Nationwide, trials against Vioxx have had mixed results. One of the most recent cases involved retired FBI Agent Gerald Barnett, who in August won $51 million from Merck and Co. after a federal court trial in New Orleans.

Merck and Co. voluntarily withdrew Vioxx from the market in September 2004.