According to the Associated Press, the Vioxx jury in Angleton today heard testimony from a pathologist who said the death of a man taking the drug was more than likely caused by a heart attack, damaging Merck & Co.’s defense in the first Vioxx liability case to reach trial.
The testimony from Dr. Maria Araneta was shown to the jury almost immediately after the Texas Supreme Court denied Merck’s attempt to stop jurors from hearing it.
Merck was hoping to limit the plaintiff to relying only on Dr. Araneta’s autopsy report, and did not want her to testify to the jury and further explain the autopsy findings. Neither her report nor the deceased’s death certificate identify a heart attack as the cause of his death, but her live testimony revealed her opinion that a heart attack was indeed the cause of death.
