Irish legal experts say the success of the first lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company Merck in the US is likely to affect the numbers of Irish people suing the company.
Speaking on RTÉ's This Week programme, Raymond Bradley, the solicitor representing more than one hundred people who took the painkiller Vioxx, said he believes the number of Irish cases will rise dramatically.
Last Friday, a jury in Texas found the pharmaceutical company Merck liable for the death of Robert Ernst in 2001 by placing its controversial 'Vioxx' arthritis painkiller on sale.
The jury awarded more than $250 million to Robert Ernst's wife, Carol, in punitive damages for mental anguish and loss of companionship.
