Jury awards widow $253.4M in Vioxx trial

[Kamikazie]

i would just like to stop and say HOLY ****,

A Texas jury found pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. liable Friday for the death of a man who took the once-popular painkiller Vioxx, awarding his widow $253.4 million in damages in the first of thousands of lawsuits pending across the country

linky

your thoughts...

 

[ríomhaire]

"$253.4 million...in the first of thousands"

 

[Kamikazie]

"$253.4 million...in the first of thousands"

they're gone..

 

[ríomhaire]

they're gone..

Pardon? What do you mean?

 

[Kamikazie]

the company is going to go bankrupt...sorry for the confusion

 

[bryanf445]

My husband died!!! But $250 mil should cover it :naughty:

 

[ríomhaire]

Yes we had a 250M funeral. Solid gold jumbo-jet-herse, buiried in the pope's chatherdeial, do you know how much a solid diamond coffin costs!

Edit: Cases like this prove that judges don't live in the real world. There is no way you can justify that much money being taken from a company and being given to 1 person.

 

[PickledGecko]

Not even if the company in question caused the death of someone through illegal actions or negligence? I mean, the payout is not just to pay a widow for the loss of her husband, it’s a punishment to the company, it’s the threat of these law suits the keeps more companies from hurting people. If its more economical to poison a towns water supply, a few companies will do it. If however there is the risk of being sued huge amounts because of the harm poisoning a towns water supply does, then even those few companies will think twice about it.

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

the company is going to go bankrupt...sorry for the confusion

Doubtful, Merck is a multi-billion dollar corporation.

 

[Kangy]

Doubtful, Merck is a multi-billion dollar corporation.

"Analysts have speculated Merck's liability could reach $18 billion."

I don't really think that they can take that much cash damage to their coffers. Even Microsoft would feel a hit like that very, very hard.

 

[nick_t]

thats waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much.

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

Anything 5 million is over kill. That women will never be able to spend all of that.

 

[ricera10]

They all claim it goes into "legal costs" and when asked to clarify, "decline to comment."

 

[Darkknighttt]

how is that way too much if they have well over $1 billion?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

 

[Pesmerga]

how is that way too much if they have well over $1 billion?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Here we go again.

Yes, let's give $250 mil to the wife of some guy who got addicted to Vioxx. Hell, let's give our neighbors 30% of our income because we borrow their lawn mower.

 

[mindless_moder]

you know they dont get one big lump sum .....it goes in monthly payments and such ..atleast i dont think it works like that

 

[FictiousWill]

That's the lottery. Not a lawsuit. They get it all, and preferably in suitcases.

 

[CyberPitz]

Geez, wish my husband could have died to Vioxx....I need some money.