Jury awards widow $253.4M in Vioxx trial

"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

"A seven-man, five-woman jury deliberated for 10 1/2 hours over two days before returning the verdict. Merck said it plans to appeal.

"Mrs. Ernst began to cry when the verdict was read while her attorneys jumped up and shouted, 'Amen!'" [BusinessWeek Online]