lanier news from FierceHealthcare

Former Merck CEO Raymond Gilmartin testified in the punitive damages phase of the company's trial in Atlantic City, NJ. As expected, Gilmartin defended Merck's handling of the painkiller, arguing again that his company did not intentionally conceal risks associated with the drug. Gilmartin stepped down from his post in late 2004 as Merck struggled to recover from the fallout of the Vioxx revelations. The highlight of the showdown between the ex-CEO and plaintiff lawyer W. Mark Lanier …

A jury in Atlantic City, New Jersey awarded $4.5 million to a man who said he suffered a heart attack after taking Vioxx. The jury rejected a second man's claim, agreeing with defense attorneys who argued that he lacked sufficient evidence to show that he took the drug consistently. Experts had predicted that Merck would do well in New Jersey, considered home turf for the Whitehouse Station-based company.

The decision appears to seriously damage Merck's key defense of the …

The latest Vioxx trial opened in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Monday. Houston lawyer W. Mark Lanier hopes to repeat last year's win in a Texas courtroom. Thomas Cona of Cherry Hill blames his heart attack on the painkiller, as does fellow plaintiff John McDarby. Merck withdrew Vioxx from the market in 2004 after a study showed the drug doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes if taken for an eighteen month. The drugmaker is expected to argue that neither Cona or McDarby took the drug …

Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Dr. Eric Topol is leaving his job at the Cleveland Clinic over his feud with CEO Dr. Toby Cosgrove, triggering headlines across the country. There are clear indications that Topol will pursue legal action against his former employer. Topol told Forbes that he has retained Houston attorney W. Mark Lanier to represent him. This week the Clinic said it will adopt new conflict-of-interest policies following Topol's criticism of his colleagues, including …

W. Mark Lanier, the folksy Texas attorney who won a blockbuster $256.3 million   judgment against Merck over the painkiller Vioxx, will head a legal "dream team" of law firms going after the drug maker. Yesterday, the attorney said he has assembled a list of 20,000 additional people who claim the drug caused them injury and threatened to launch a wave of lawsuits in state courts. "We've got the best courtroom lawyers, we've got the best mass tort lawyers... and we've got …

Pharma watchers continue to struggle to make sense of the verdict in Ernst v. Merck as the focus of attention shifts toward upcoming cases facing the drug company, particularly the trial scheduled to start in September in Atlantic City, New Jersey. On Monday, Wall Street analyst Catherine Arnold doubled her earlier estimate of the drug maker's liability for the painkiller to $10 billion as a result of the company's defeat in the case. To put those numbers in perspective: on Friday, the …

As jurors in Texas weigh the company's fate, executives at Merck are considering a sobering reality. Even if Merck does manage to win the lawsuit against it over the role of the painkiller Vioxx in the death of Peter Ernst, the company still faces thousands of other suits making similar charges. Going into Ernst v. Merck, many legal experts had predicted an easy win for Merck. It hasn't quite worked out that way. Many say Houston attorney W. Mark Lanier may have pulled off a major legal …

In his closing arguments in the first Vioxx trial yesterday, attorney W. Mark Lanier told jurors that Carol Ernst should receive $40 million in compensatory damages from drug giant Merck for the death of her husband, Robert. The Houston lawyer said "punitive damages should be many times that." Jurors begin their deliberations today. The trial is being closely watched by lawyers and analysts around the country for indications of what the future may hold for Merck. More than 4,000 people …

As arguments in the first Vioxx trial come to a close, legal observers think the outcome of the wrongful death lawsuit against Merck is likely to hinge on the instructions the judge gives to the jury. If they think Vioxx was to blame for the death of Robert Ernst, jurors will now have to decide if Vioxx alone was responsible or if it was a "contributing factor." Plaintiff attorney W. Mark Lanier argues it is enough for the drug to have been a "contributor." Merck attorneys counter that …

Many legal observers say testimony in the first half of the Ernst v. Merck trial has favored the plaintiff, a development which could be an ominous sign for the drug maker. The New York Times reports that after a bumpy start, plaintiff attorney W. Mark Lanier seems to be making progress in winning over the jury in the case. The evidence presented in the case appears to have bolstered Lanier's argument that Vioxx was responsible for the death of Robert Ernst. The occasionally …