Vioxx, Dodgeball: Did Merck Try to Avoid the Truth?
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Read Case 12 - Vioxx, Dodgeball: Did Merck Try to Avoid the Truth?
After you read the case, address the following:
Offer an opinion on the outcome.
Explain whether you feel the consumer has any responsibility.
Explain the role of the FDA.
Assess the punishment. Is it too much or too little? Describe an appropriate punishment.
Explain an appropriate reaction to deter future behavior in any corporation.
http://books.google.com/books?id=kSNkvFv1OYAC&pg=PA196&lpg=PA196&dq=vioxx,+dodgeball:+Did+merck+try+to+avoid+the+truth?&source=bl&ots=bRmylXroTs&sig=UmTex7dfk1-w-BfY1n6PH4ZjdxI&hl=en&ei=dCGsTp-8J4v0mAXx6ZjfBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false
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Solution Summary
The expert offers an opinion on the case outcome, as well as whether consumers should bear any of the responsibility. The FDA is also discussed in terms of their faults, and the punishment is assessed as well as methods to prevent this from happening in future corporations. It is approximately 785 words with 1 reference.
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Offer an opinion on the outcome.
After reviewing the Merck case, it is almost infuriating to think of the countless lives lost and the families impacted by the malicious intent of Merck to market a drug direct to consumers that they knew had severe risks. The results of the first trial in Texas in the death of Robert C. Ernst determined Merck was guilty of "avoiding the truth" about their knowledge of the risks that Vioxx posed to the public. The jury summarized that Mr. Ernst died as a result of Merck's recklessness and awarded 253.5 million dollars to his family (Weiss, 2008).
This lawsuit was important on many fronts. One of the major outcomes from this trial was the reveling of all the documentation, emails, videos, and other such literature such as the handbook for salesman called "Dodgeball" that proved Merck's intent on avoiding responsibility of truthfully answering for the health risks associated with Vioxx (Weiss, 2008). The overwhelming evidence of Merck's unethical wrongdoing paved the way for thousands of lawsuits to come.
My opinion is that the jury acted correctly and appropriately in making a statement to Merck and the ...
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