Verdicts & Settlements
Vioxx Deal Goes Forward With 93 Percent Participation
Posted Mar 4, 2008, 07:13 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A $4.85 billion Vioxx settlement remains on track with the disclosure that more than 93 percent of the claimants filed forms indicating they plan to participate.
Merck & Co. says more than 44,000 of 47,000 claimants submitted at least some of the documents needed to claim a share of the proceeds, the Wall Street Journal reports. The next step is to provide medical documentation.
Claimants who can prove the painkiller caused heart attacks or strokes are expected to receive $50,000 to $1.5 million, depending on their age and risk factors, the newspaper says.
The deal provided that it could not go forward unless at least 85 percent of the claimants accepted it, ABAJournal.com explained in earlier posts. But the company dropped a requirement that said lawyers with clients participating in the settlement could not represent others who opted out.