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THE OTHER SIDE OF THE
VIOXX VERDICT
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Alex Winslow
512-381-1111
August 22,
2005
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE
VIOXX VERDICT
Special interest Texas law
trumps citizen juries; Wrongdoers reap windfall
Consumer group calls for change
in punitive damages law to help children’s health care
Last week, a jury in Angleton , Texas
found that the drug Vioxx led to the death of a Texas man
named Robert Ernst -- and that the drug company knew the drug
was harmful. As a result of 15-plus years of pro-defendant
legal changes, this decision will be virtually meaningless.
“A panel of independent citizens found
that corporate wrongdoers who put individuals at risk -- like
the makers of Vioxx -- should be held accountable,” said Alex
Winslow, Executive Director of the non-partisan consumer
organization, Texas Watch. “Unfortunately, the legal changes
that were passed under the guise of so-called tort ‘reform’
and a Texas Supreme Court beholden to corporate interests have
rendered jury verdicts virtually meaningless.”
Despite the Angleton jury’s intention
to severely punish Merck & Co. for its actions, Texas law
protects wrongdoers by drastically limiting the punitive
damage assessment. Punitive damages should be stiff enough to
serve as a deterrent to companies who are considering
marketing a dangerous product.
Vioxx had annual sales of roughly $2.5
billion when the drug was found to be dangerously defective.
Under Texas law, Merck can be forced to pay no more than $26.1
million, amounting to only about 1% of Vioxx’s annual sales.
In 2001, Merck estimated that it would
make a $229 million windfall if it could delay an FDA warning
about the danger of Vioxx. Under Texas ’ arbitrary political
computation Merck will be rewarded for its deception by
requiring the company to pay only pennies on the dollar.
Winslow suggested that lawmakers
should change the law so that jury assessments above the
arbitrary legislative formula go to the state to help pay for
health insurance for working families. In the Vioxx case, that
would amount to roughly $200 million. That money would enable
lawmakers to completely restore deep cuts in the children’s
health insurance plan (CHIP).
“Instead of letting Vioxx makers
escape responsibility, lawmakers should force these wrongdoers
to improve public health for our children – that would be real
tort reform,” said Winslow. “Two hundred million dollars would
go a long way toward ensuring that all Texas children have
access to health care.”
The law in Texas gives wrongdoers an
incentive to take cases like Vioxx to trial rather than
settling out of court. This practice increases the burden not
only on the victims and their families, but also on taxpayers.
“Lawmakers claim to support greater
judicial efficiency, but the reality is that these laws are
designed to protect big drug companies and insurance lobbyists
– not taxpayers or victims,” said Winslow.
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