In August 2005 a Texas state jury found Merck to be liable for the death of a man, and was ordered to pay out $253m in compensation. In November of the same year a New Jersey state jury found Merck had given doctors adequate warning about possible risks. This gives some indication of the polarised nature of the legal climate towards Merck's responsibility over the issue. Merck has been facing an avalanche of lawsuits ever since it withdrew the prescription medication in 2004.

If you have been affected by taking Rofecoxib or a derived product, you may be entitled to compensation. There have been 9600 cases and 190 class actions filed against the drug's manufacturer, Merck, since the drug was withdrawn from sale in September 2004. Many legal authorities argue that the responsibility for the drug's side effects rests entirely with Merck, as a study published by VIGOR in 2000 had already indicated a quadrupled increase in the incidence of myocardial infarction. Since the drug was available on prescription for approximately four years after its potentially fatal side effects were discovered, the makers of Rofecoxib have been considered by many legal authorities to have acted irresponsibly and have therefore been the target of much litigation.

In December 2005 a trial in Houston ended abruptly after the judge declared a mistrial. This decision was made after the jury were unable to reach a decision as to whether the drug had been responsible for the alleged victim's fatal heart attack. Many Britons have also been afraid that they might have been affected by the drug, and the litigation which Merck are facing is spread across many countries.

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