Personal injury law suits, as in the Vioxx cases, are a big time legal practice in the US. There are even lawyers who specialise as Vioxx attorneys. In few other countries, if any, do the laws grant comparable awards by way of compensatory and punitive damages against defendant corporations, though the trend to increased amounts is on the rise.
In the US, known for its litigious mentality, the small aggrieved plaintiff can look to huge damages for injury caused by the big medical firms and corporations. Law firms who take up such cases are as a rule paid on a contingency basis. That is they get a cut from the amount of damages awarded. And usually quite a large cut. The ethics of such a system is a matter of debate. On the other side, the big corporations also pay huge fees to their attorneys to defend their case.
In one Vioxx case an elderly gentleman called Leonel Garza was awarded $7 million in compensatory damages for suffering a heard attack after taking Vioxx. That verdict caused some outcry as Mr Garza was already overweight, suffered from high cholesterol and had a history of a previous heart attack and bypass surgery. The evidence was not even that clear that Mr. Garza was prescribed or that he took Vioxx at all. One doctor said he only gave a sample pack of 8 pills, against Garza's widow's testimony that he had given him an eight days worth sample. And another doctor denied her testimony that he ever gave Garza a 30 day Vioxx prescription or even any Vioxx prescription.
Despite what appears to be weak evidence the jury found for Mr Garza. A sympathy verdict.
Click link for more on the Garza Vioxx case.
No doubt medical firms have to be held to the highest standards. But when people see that huge payouts can be achieved even in a very weak case, that feeds and encourages the litigious instinct. Further there is always a chance of a big settlement when the big firm would rather have a case brushed under the carpet than to fight it in the full glare of an open court trial.
