Case Study Punishment and Settlement

Vioxx, Dodgeball: Did Merck Try to Avoid the Truth?

Offer an opinion on the outcome of the case.

            In my opinion, the outcome of the case against Merck was just. The jury acted correctly by awarding the family of the deceased Robert Ernst $229 million and $24.4 million in punitive and compensatory damages, respectively. The company’s drug Vioxx was vigorously marketed to the public in spite of findings that it had serious cardiovascular impacts on the users. Three studies, 090, VIGOR, and APPROVe, showed a significantly high risk of heart attack and stroke in users of this medicine meant for arthritis, but Merck avoided the truth by proceeding to sell the drug to consumers (Weiss, 2014). This overwhelming evidence of Merck’s unethical practices caused its loss in the Ernst case and paved the way for thousands of other suits against the company.

Explain whether you feel the consumer has any responsibility

            Consumers are responsible for assessing the benefits and risks they get from a particular product. A company should be clear about all the effects that a drug could cause. However, with no adequate information, it is hard for consumers to exercise this responsibility. In this case, the consumers were not provided adequate information on the risks they were exposed to by using Vioxx.

Explain the role of the FDA.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ensures public health and safety by assessing the effectiveness and safety of drugs, medical devices, vaccines, and food products. In this case, the FDA did not effectively perform its role by approving a drug with a significant cardiovascular risk to users.

Assess the punishment. Is it too much or too little? Describe an appropriate punishment.

Having Merck pay for damages and settle lawsuits was not an effective punishment for its unethical behavior. This pharmaceutical company can easily betray the public’s trust in the future. The effective punishment would have been to revoke the company’s license to produce more drugs.

Explain an appropriate reaction to deter future behavior in any corporation.

Corporations need to understand that there are dire consequences for their unethical actions and getting out of them is not as easy as paying people off. The government would have made a statement by revoking the company’s license to deter future behaviors such as this from other corporations.

References

Weiss, J. W. (2014). Business ethics: A stakeholder and issues management approach. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

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Discussion u4d2 Case Study  Punishment and Settlement

Review Case 16, “Vioxx, Dodgeball: Did Merck Try to Avoid the Truth?,” on page 347 of your text.

In your post:

• 

  Case Study Punishment and Settlement

  Offer an opinion on the outcome of the case.

• 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.

Refer to the Discussion Participation Scoring Guide for posting expectations.

Discussion Participation Scoring Guide