Vioxx Jurors Struggle for Verdict, Told to Keep Trying
December 12, 2005 08:50

Mid-morning, the five men and four women on the jury sent word to U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon that they were having trouble reaching a verdict. They've been working since Thursday afternoon to decide if Vioxx played a role in the fatal heart attack of 53-year-old Richard "Dickie" Irvin in 2001.

NEW YORK -- Merck & Co.'s failure to disclose information about additional heart attacks in a Vioxx clinical trial to a prominent medical journal strengthens plaintiffs' cases because it bolsters claims that the company deliberately disguised the pain reliever's risks, experts said

According to sources, jurors told Judge Fallon midway through deliberations on Saturday that they could not reach a consensus on whether Merck failed to properly warn of cardiovascular dangers associated with Vioxx, which plaintiff Evelyn Irvin Plunkett alleged was the cause of her husband's death.