Yesterday, the Bloomberg News reported, “Merck & Co, which paid $4.85 billion to resolve patient lawsuits contending its Vioxx painkiller caused heart attacks, settled claims by New York and Florida alleging the company misled state officials about the drug’s safety, a court filing showed.” The company “agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to the states of Florida, New York and South Carolina to resolve suits alleging the drugmaker failed to adequately warn patients of Vioxx’s risks before halting sales in 2004, Russ Herman, a lawyer for former users of the drug, said in the Nov. 10 filing.” However, Merck officials maintain that “Vioxx wasn’t the cause of users’ heart attacks.”
