Arthritis Drug Allegedly Caused Woman to Suffer Stroke

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - An Iowa woman has filed suit against Merck claiming that her ingestion of the arthritis drug Vioxx caused her to suffer a stroke that left her hospitalized for 31 days. Kathleen G. Wolff, and Earl C. Wolff v. Merck & Co., Inc., No. C03-2049-LRR (N.D. Iowa, Eastern Div.).

The suit, which was filed in Iowa's District Court for Blackhawk County, alleges that the arthritis medication is defective because it was not supplied with adequate warnings regarding the drug's ability to potentially cause strokes.

'Evidence linking Vioxx to significant edema, serious cardiovascular events and death has been …