It emerged on Thursday that pharmaceutical firm, Merck & Co. has been found not to have been liable for a heart attack suffered by a user of the now withdrawn Vioxx painkiller.

After three days of deliberation, a New Jersey state jury found in favor of Merck, arguing that the company had issued proper warnings regarding the dangerous side effects of the drug.

However, in August a Texas jury found the firm liable for the death of a Vioxx user, meaning that a clear precedent has not yet been set that would determine Merck's ultimate liability in the more than 6,500 similar lawsuits that it is still facing.