Merck loses Humeston Vioxx lawsuit

When twice-decorated, Vietnam-war veteran Frederick "Mike" Humeston lost his Vioxx lawsuit against Merck, everyone was shocked by Merck's ferocious attack. Thanks to the foresight and wisdom of New Jursey Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee who was very troubled by the discovery of highly incriminating documents, a retrial was granted to give him another chance for justice.

Now a jury in Atlantic City has done justice to him. In a a big slap on the face of Merck attorneys and executives, who have tried to argue that the company did nothing wrong, the jury has decided that the company committed fraud by knowingly hiding the dangers of Vioxx. The decision implies that if Merck cared for the lives and health of its customers, Humeston would have never suffered a heart attack and would still be a healthy man.

When he took Vioxx for his arthritic pain, he did not realize that it would lead to a heart attack. So when Merck recalled Vioxx after the death of as many as 60,000 Americans (and an unknown number of people worldwide), he sued. Instead of admitting its guilt, the company used every dirty trick it could find, every document that it could hide, and every lie that it could come up with to deny him any compensation.

The other lawsuit that was tried simultaneously with this case, and brought by the estate of Brian Hermans, went in Merck's favor.