(9-March-2005/DenverPost)A man who suffered a heart attack after taking the painkiller Vioxx sued its manufacturer Tuesday in federal court in Denver.

Art Kleinstein, a 58-year-old real estate developer in Denver, suffered a "catastrophic" heart attack last June after being prescribed Vioxx for pain from hip surgery.

"I've always been pretty healthy and active," he said. "Once Vioxx (made by Merck) admitted there was a relationship to heart attacks, I thought they should have done something about it."

So his attorney, Scott Eldredge, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court in Denver, claiming Kleinstein is "permanently injured" from using Vioxx.

Company officials declined to comment because they had not seen the complaint.

Vioxx is a Cox-2 inhibitor approved by the Food and Drug Administration nearly six years ago for pain from arthritis and joint and muscle inflammation. Recent studies showed it may be associated with increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.

In September, Merck voluntarily pulled Vioxx from the market. The FDA earlier this year allowed Merck to put Vioxx back on the market on a limited basis.

But Kleinstein's lawyers, in court documents, claimed Merck has been aware of problems with Vioxx for years.

"Merck's motivation in concealing Vioxx's dangerous propensities ... was profit," Eldredge wrote. "Vioxx has grown to be one of Merck's most important drugs, accounting for billions of dollars in revenues, and $2.2 billion in 2000 alone," according to Merck's corporate filings, Eldredge wrote.

Eldredge said complaints against Vioxx are being filed so frequently in federal courts across the country that they all are being consolidated before U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon in Louisiana.

Once Fallon rules on a variety of pretrial proceedings, the cases will go back to their original courts.

Kleinstein's complaint alleges fraud, negligence, outrageous conduct and nine other claims against Merck.

Eldredge said it was the first Vioxx lawsuit his firm has filed against the company, although the firm is working on many more filings. His firm, Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine PC, advertised "to a small extent" for Vioxx consumers, he said.

Numerous other cases against Vioxx have been filed throughout the country in state courts, he said, with trials expected to begin within the next six months in Texas, California and Merck's home state of New Jersey.

Eldredge's firm is participating in trials in California, he said.