N.Y. Man Blames Merck's Vioxx for Heart Attack

NEW YORK - A New York man prescribed Vioxx for arthritis pain blames the drug for his heart attack and accuses Merck & Co. of negligence and fraud in its marketing. Hanson v. Merck & Co., No. 04-2949 (E.D. N.Y.).

William Hanson of Patchogue, N.Y., complains in a lawsuit filed on July 14 that ignored studies indicating a link between Vioxx and hypertension and cardiovascular disease but denied the links in publications of its own.

Hanson cites in particular a study presented at the European United League Against Rheumatism in June 2000, which showed a 'statistically significant increase in hypertension …