According to a story by Reuters, opening statements have begun in the nation’s second Vioxx trial:
ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) – Merck & Co. Inc. knew of heart risks linked to its painkiller, Vioxx, but kept them from doctors and patients as it pursued big profits, a lawyer for a man who blames the drug for his heart attack said at the second Vioxx trial on Wednesday.
“He would not have had this heart attack if it had not been for this drug,” said Christopher Seeger, a lawyer for 60-year- old postal worker and ex-Marine Frederick “Mike” Humeston, told jurors in opening statements at New Jersey Superior Court.
Merck knew of cardiovascular risks associated with the drug “and never said anything to anybody — all to preserve their billion-dollar blockbuster product.”
