Ruling by an Australian unit said on Friday that the Vioxx drug of Merck & Co's, doubles the risk of heart attacks. The ruling came out against the company's Australian unit.

The case against Merck was fought by the world's first listed law firm, Slater & Gordon. It was fighting the case for the last five years and finally won the case after 48 days of trial, which involved a compensation amount of $287,000.

The decision was given by Federal Court judge Christopher Jessup and the compensation is to be paid to Graeme Peterson.

Peterson had claimed that after having the drug he suffered from a severe heart attack which made it impossible for him to work. Peterson is 59 years old.

Lawyers from Slater & Gordon said that the ruling has paved way for similar lawsuits.

Meanwhile, this is the first time that a unit of Merck has come under trail outside its home country, the US.

The company said, after the ruling that it would appeal against the decision. It said that Vioxx has been removed from the markets in 2004 and that closes possibility of any such incident.