Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Vioxx Trial: Desperate Executives?

Plaintiff's Attorney Mark Lanier captivated the courtroom yesterday in closing argument on the Cona case.

Lanier presented his 70-minute closing statement to the jury in the form of a TV series he called 'Desperate Executives' - a takeon the popular series "Desperate Housewives." Lanier's fictional series consisted of four episodes: "Shoot for the Moon"; "Trouble in Paradise"; "The Cover Up"; and "Game Over."

The story, Lanier said, began with the desire to make money from Vioxx, progressed through a series of evasions and denials that the drug caused heart attacks, and ended with Vioxx being criticized by a number of scientific reports.

Great stuff. Read more here.