Thursday, July 28, 2005

Vioxx and the battle over the autopsy doctor's testimony

The doctor in the Texas Vioxx trial was deposed on Tuesday July 26, 2005 and the Court is now considering a Motion to Exclude her testimony.

She testified that the decedent in the case "more likely than not" did in fact have a heart attack.

Also during the deposition the doctor testified that she was flown on business class (the flight cost was $6,000) and that the attorney had made reservations for her stay at the posh Four Seasons in Houston.

Comment: If the Court allows the testimony to be heard this may look very bad for Merck. For the life of me I can't figure out why the attorney did not even list the doctor on the possible call list in the PTO.