Jurors Add $9 Million Punitive Award to Vioxx Plaintiff's $4.5 Million Verdict

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - A New Jersey jury has added $9 million in punitive damages to a $4.5 million verdict awarded to a man who suffered a heart attack after taking Vioxx for four years, finding that Merck & Co. Inc. misrepresented material information to the FDA concerning the now-withdrawn arthritis drug. In Re: Vioxx Litigation, Case No. 619 (N.J. Super. Ct., Atlantic Cty.).

The Atlantic County Superior Court jury, by a 7-1 vote, reached the April 11 punitive damages verdict after hearing two days of testimony from former Merck and FDA officials and a second round of closing arguments.