Federal Jury Finds Merck Not Liable for Tenn. Man's Heart Attack

NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans jurors have cleared Merck & Co. Inc. of liability in the fifth federal Vioxx trial, rejecting a Tennessee man's claims that his 2003 heart attack was caused by the painkiller, which he had taken for six months to treat osteoarthritis. In Re: Vioxx Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1657 (E.D. La.).

The seven-member jury reached the verdict Dec. 13 after a two-and-a-half-week trial before Judge Eldon E. Fallon of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The jury deliberated for less than two hours.

In the case of Dedrick v. Merck & …