BIG FRANK SUES THE SOX

Former White Sox slugger Frank Thomas recently filed suit against the Sox, alleging that the negligence of team physicians may have cost him millions of dollars. Thomas is alleging that in 2004, doctors at Midwest Orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center misdiagnosed his left foot injury as a bruise, when in fact, there was a fractured bone in his foot. Thomas further alleges that White Sox docs improperly cleared him to play and that he later broke a second bone in the foot. Vaughn McClure's article in the July 14, 2006 Chicago Sun-Times discusses the lawsuit. It appears from the article that Thomas will be taking the position that the negligence of the doctors cost him millions in salary. Big Frank's argument is that the fractures were the reason he didn't have great seasons in 2004 and 2005. And, those performances were why the Sox didn't pick up Frank's $10 million dollar option in 2006. Instead, the Sox bought him out for $3.5 million. The Oakland Athletics picked him up for a mere $500,000 for 2006, although his contract is heavily laden with incentives and he could make $3 million if he has a good season. And, at present, Frank is batting .260, with 24 Home Runs and 67 RBI's, so he is having a pretty decent year. Frank hired the premier Chicago personal injury law firm in the City of Chicago to prosecute the case, so the White Sox had better bring their A game to the Courtroom.

MERCK WINS ONE IN NEW JERSEY

Merck & Company was on trial again recently in New Jersey on a claim that the drug Vioxx had caused a 68 year old woman to suffer a heart attack. Elaine Doherty sued Merck, claiming that she suffered a heart attack in January of 2004 after having taken Vioxx for over two years. The jury found against Ms. Doherty. The Doherty cases was a particularly crucial case for Merck, as it came on the heels of an enormous verdict against Merck in April of 2006. In that case John McDarby had prevailed on his claim that Vioxx had caused him to suffer a heart attack and the jury awarded 4 million dollars in compensatory damages and 9 million in punitive damages. [See Blog entry of April 17, 2006]. So the executives at Merck were holding their breath to see if they would take another big hit. They can exhale ...for now.

Ms. Doherty's case was the first in which jurors considered whether Merck had failed to warn patients about cardiac risks, rather that doctors. The jury found that Merck did indeed properly warn doctors but didn't warn Ms. Doherty of the risks. The jury further concluded however, that despite, Merck's failure to warn, Vioxx had not been a major factor in the 2004 heart attack that Ms. Doherty had suffered. Merck had argued in part , that Ms. Doherty would likely have suffered a heart attack anyway, due to other conditions, including obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. So Merck is presently 4 for 7 in cases that have gone to the jury. The three verdicts against Merck are being appealed. According to various news reports, there are presently 16,000 Vioxx cases pending against Merck, and Merck has set aside $970 million dollars for legal costs.