A jury in Texas last month awarded $253 million to the widow of a man who died after taking Vioxx (rofecoxib). The plaintiff charged that the drug maker Merck & Co. failed to warn physicians about the danger posed by Vioxx, that the drug was improperly designed, and that the company's negligence caused the death of the plaintiff's husband, Robert Ernst. Merck executives plan to appeal the verdict on the grounds that the jury was allowed to hear testimony that was both irrelevant and not based on reliable science, the company said. "While we are disappointed with the verdict, this decision should be put in its appropriate context," Kenneth C. Frazier, Merck's senior vice president and general counsel, said in a statement. "This is the first of many trials. Each case has a different set of facts. Regardless of the outcome in this single case, the fact remains that plaintiffs have a significant legal burden in proving causation." The award included $24 million in actual damages and $229 million in punitive damages. But the punitive damages could be reduced to about $2 million, according to Merck.