The New York Times, "Vioxx Trials May Clear Up Merck Picture"

          The financial future of Merck & Co. should start to become clearer in the coming weeks as the first of what promises to be hundreds of trials begins over claims that the drug maker's Vioxx pain medication contributed to patient' death or disability.
          Vioxx was pulled from the market last Sept. 30. Analysts have estimated that Merck's potential liability could soar to as high as $18 billion if plaintiff lawyers can successfully prove Vioxx caused their client's death or injury and that Merck knew about the drug's potentially lethal side effects and sold it anyway.
          But before the first trial can start, Clay County Circuit Court Judge John Rochester in Ashland, Ala., 90 miles northeast of the Alabama state capital, must decide whether Cheryl Rogers' claim can proceed. Rogers insists the Vioxx her 42-year old husband took caused his death. Merck says Rogers is a liar, arguing in court documents that the pills she claimed he took didn't leave the company until six months after he died.