The Lanier Law Firm Handling Latest VIOXX® Trial Set to Begin January 2007 in New Jersey
HOUSTON - Attorneys from The Lanier Law Firm with offices in Houston and New York are set to begin work in the nation's latest VIOXX® trial. The case against Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck & Co. Inc. is scheduled to begin Jan. 22, 2007, in New Jersey state superior court.
The Lanier Law Firm founder W. Mark Lanier represents the family of Brian Hermans, who died in 2002 after taking VIOXX® for less than seven months. VIOXX® manufacturer Merck withdrew the pain medication in 2004 after scientific studies showed that the drug doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Mr. Hermans, only 44 years old at the time of his death, was an athlete who was in excellent health prior to taking VIOXX®. Autopsy results showed that he died from a heart attack, and that one of the arteries to his heart was blocked by a large blood clot.
The trial scheduled before New Jersey State Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee is expected to last several weeks. In the initial phase of the case, jurors will decide whether Merck failed to warn of VIOXX® risks. The trial's second phase will focus on whether VIOXX® caused Mr. Herman's deadly heart attack.
The Lanier Law Firm won the nation's first VIOXX® trial in 2005 when a jury in Angleton, Texas, returned a verdict of $253.5 million for the family of Robert Ernst, a marathon runner who died at the age of 59 after taking VIOXX® for less than a year.
For more information please contact The Lanier Law Firm.
