Texas jury in first Vioxx trial awards $253 million (Reuter


<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050820/hl_nm/merck_vioxx_dc"><img src="http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/nm/20050820/mdf34484.jpg?x=130&y=90&sig=ZDR7cNiYG_gBi4R8_KPjDQ--" align="left" height="90" width="130" alt="A pharmacist holds bottles of prescription arthritis and pain medication Vioxx at a New York City Pharmacy in this file picture taken September 30, 2004. A jury in the first civil trial against Merck and Co.'s popular painkiller Vioxx on August 19, 2005, found the pharmaceutical company liable for the 2001 death of a Texas man, awarding his widow $253 million in damages. The 12-member jury in the Texas state court awarded $24 million to Carol Ernst, the widow of Robert Ernst, for mental anguish and loss of companionship and $229 million in punitive damages. (Mike Segar/Files/Reuters)" border="0" /></a>Reuters - A Texas jury on Friday found
drug maker Merck & Co. Inc. negligent in the death of a man who
took its popular painkiller Vioxx and awarded his widow $253
million in the first of thousands of Vioxx lawsuits to go to
trial.</p><br clear=all>

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