Vioxx maker faces deluge of lawsuits

US pharmaceutical giant Merck and Co. faces a growing number of class-action lawsuits in Canada after it lost a wrongful death case related to its arthritis painkiller Vioxx, an attorney representing plaintiffs said.

A Texas jury last week awarded damages totalling more than $253-million to Carol Ernst, whose 59-year-old triathlete husband Robert died in May 2001 from heart failure after using Vioxx to treat pain in his hands.

Since then, the number of legal complaints have spiked in Canada, said Murray Miskin, a Toronto attorney who represents 300 Vioxx users suing Merck.

"People are seeing that there is something happening, there is actually a decision and it is a warning: big money to somebody who used Vioxx," he said.

According to Miskin, about 3000 people have filed about 30 lawsuits in several Canadian courts.

The attorney said Merck could face damages of $41.5-million.

Vioxx was introduced to the Canadian market in 1999 and withdrawn in 2004. About 700 000 Canadians are believed to have used Vioxx.

The Texas jury found Merck guilty of liability, negligence and malice over the sale of Vioxx.

Merck has been deluged with lawsuits around the world since it yanked the $2.5-billion-a-year seller Vioxx from the market last September after an internal study showed it increased the risk of strokes and heart attacks.

The drug was taken by more than 20 million people worldwide before its withdrawal.