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EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) - A state jury Tuesday sided with Vioxx maker Merck & Co. over claims that its once-blockbuster painkiller caused the 2003 deadly heart attack of an obese 52-year-old Illinois woman, concluding her own poor health likely led to her demise.
The Madison County jurors deliberated about six hours over two days before rejecting the request from Patty Schwaller's widower to hit Merck mightily in the pocketbook for allegedly contributing to his wife's death and not sufficiently warning that the drug carried potentially dangerous cardiovascular side-effects.
In siding with Merck, the jury concluded that Vioxx was not a "proximate cause" in the death of Patty Schwaller, who had taken the drug for about 20 months before suddenly collapsing and dying in her Granite City home.
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