Plaintiff Can Pursue Claim that Physician Prescribed Excessive Vioxx Dose

CHICAGO - A federal judge has remanded an Illinois woman's Vioxx case after finding that she did not fraudulently join or misjoin a non-diverse physician who allegedly prescribed excessive doses of Vioxx to the plaintiff's husband. Alegre v. Aguayo, et al., No. 06-5744 (N.D. Ill.).

In a Jan. 17 opinion, Judge Amy J. St. Eve of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said that plaintiff Ines Alegre's allegations that her husband's physician, Dr. Jorge N. Aguayo of Norwegian American Hospital Inc., prescribed an excessive amount of Vioxx 'distinguish this case from the more common scenario in …