Now that the lawyers are beginning to decide whether their clients will participate in a settlement offered by Merck for patients who took Vioxx and suffered myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a “heart attack,” it is a good time to look at the details of the settlement offer. These details are as follows:
- Most importantly, the settlement will be considered void unless at least 85% of those with pending cases against Merck sign on, including
- MI cases
- Ischemic stroke cases, i.e. cases of strokes caused by blockage of arteries in the brain
- Death cases
- Cases of use for 12 or more months
- The agreement is offered only to US residents, and those who claim their MI occurred in the US.
- All claimants that will be party to the case must meet three standards or “gates”:
- The injury gate-they must have objective, medical proof of an MI or ischemic stroke
- The duration gate-they must have documented receipt of at least 30 Vioxx pills
- The proximity gate-the pills must have been received close enough to the injury to support a presumption of Vioxx ingestion within 14 days of the injury
- Strokes that are hemorrhagic or transitory in nature will not be considered for the purposes of this settlement
- Law firms on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committees must recommend enrollment in the program to 100% of their clients that qualify
- Each individual case will be examined to determine qualification based on objective, documented facts, including records of independent risk factors
- The parties will seek to get judges to order plaintiffs’ attorneys to promptly register all Vioxx claims
- $4 billion have been allocated for MI claims, $850 million for ischemic stroke claims
- The settlement will be allocated according to the independent qualification of each claim
- Payments could begin in August 2008, and will be paid in installments
- Merck reserves the right to not pay any settlement if any of the terms of the settlement are not met
- Merck does not admit fault
The settlement shows the complexity of dealing with a major piece of litigation over a defective pharmaceutical. If you or a loved one has been injured by a pharmaceutical with dangerous side effects, you cannot go it alone. Contact the experienced prescription drug attorneys at Snyder & Wenner, P.C, protecting the rights of victims in the Pheonix, Arizona, area.
