Vioxx Manufacturer Granted Summary Judgment on Injury Claims

LAKE CHARLES, La. - A federal judge granted summary judgment to the manufacturer of Vioxx after concluding that the plaintiff could not recover damages because his claims were outside the scope of the Louisiana Products Liability Act (LPLA). John Abrusely, Sr., v. Merck & Co., Inc., et al., No. 02-CV-0169 (W.D. La.).

Under the LPLA, a claimant can only recover damages under four theories of liability including: (a) defective construction or construction; (b) defective design; (c) failure to warn; and (d) failure to conform to an express warranty, states U.S. District Judge James T. Trimble, Jr.'s, ruling, which was entered …