Merck To Start Making Vioxx Payments
17 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // July 17th, 2008 // 8:49 am
After a couple of postponements, the drugmaker next month will begin issuing payments to people who claim they were harmed by the notorious painkiller as part of the $4.85 billion settlement reached last November.
More than 48,500 of the roughly 50,000 people who registered eligible injuries, or 97 percent, have enrolled and most have submitted releases and other materials for verification, according to a Merck statement. Now, certain thresholds must be met - 85 percent or more of all eligible myocardial infarction claims; 85 percent or more of all eligible ischemic stroke claims; 85 percent or more of all eligible claims claiming death as an injury; and 85 percent or more of all eligible claims alleging more than 12 months of use.
Under the agreement, Merck could have exercised a walk-away right if the thresholds and other requirements were not met, but the drugmaker says the right is being waived as of August 4, triggering an obligation to pay a fixed total of $4.85 billion. However, payments to the fund will be made in installments, with the first payment of $500 million scheduled for August 6. Additional payments will be made on a periodic basis going forward for claims and administrative expenses.
As we have noted previously, the two postponements Merck legally sought earlier this year before agreeing to deposit $4.1 billion in escrow allowed the drugmaker to retain about $41 million in interest, assuming a 3 percent rate of return. Here is the back story.
Paul G
1) How much are the lawyers getting?
2) How much are their clients getting?
The answers to these questions can tell you (almost) everything about these cases…
Justice in MI
So Paul G., I agree with you that these are good questions and worth knowing.
But since you say “almost,” I’m genuinely curious to know if you think there was _anything_ at all in the Merck/Vioxx saga for which Merck should rightfully be held accountable?
Paul G
Thanks Justice.
Frankly, and since you ask, I don’t believe there was anything significant in this saga. Merck made a dumb decision to remove from the market a product that helped thousands of people instead of placing a black box warning.
The data was exaggerated by the plaintiffs and the critics and the whole thing blew out of total proportion.
The outcome now is that thousands or millions of patients will not have access to a medicine that has a favorable risk:benefit ratio.
Patients lost, Merck lost, Merck employees lost, the public lost, the whole industry lost, a few lawyers won.
Justice in MI
Thanks for your thoughts, Paul G. Since a lot of Merck senior folk, and their own lawyers, are not dummies (as far as I know), it would be interesting why they made the decision they did after AdVANTAGE. My personal hunch is that they had good reason to anticipate their liability would be considerably worse down the road.
Amy
Once again, talk of money. No talk of death, or almost death, for thousands of people. I hope the individuals harmed, or their wrecked families, get more financial recompense than the last big settlements from another drug.
debbie
The attorneys will get 33%
Gary
Debbie,
No, the attorneys will get only 3% to 8% as the NJ Judge has stated for the aggreement to the settlement.
Gary
Debbie,
No, as the NJ Judge has stated the attorneys will only get 3% to 8% if you aggreed to the settlement.
Still Waiting in SC
you lawyer will get 33% which is standard in any lawsuit and the claims adminstrators (BrownGreer)will get up to 8% for their work on our cases. They make the aprrovals and compute the points.
Still Waiting in SC
Sorry for the above typos - Some checks should go out by end of this month (August)for 40% partial payments this year, and 60 % next year in 2009.
They still have to decide how much each point is worth - so many people are splitting the $4.85 billion settlement probably about $1200 - $1500 per point..
Paul
SC - You are wrong on the 33% to our law firm and up to 8% to Brown Greer. The 33% was structured to prepare for court settlements, because this is a participation to agree to a settlement and our law firm only had to take part of the paper work they are only entitled to 3% to 8% that is decided by the NJ Judge, Brown Greer will be paid by Mirck over and above the 4.85 Billion. The settlement would not be worth much to the victoms if they settled for those high percentages. Your law firm shoud have told you this by now.
Still Waiting in SC
I hope I am wrong but my lawyers (Seeger Weiss) said they were getting 33%. I agree since they are just collecting my medical evidence and not preparing for pre trials and trial and ebt’s , that they should agree to take less. I will check on that at another time - I have called them 1x a week for past month and do not want to bother them again for a while…. Chris Seeger did negotiate the overall settlement. but I was told by them they have over 11,000 clients - imagine 33% of that.
Still Waiting in SC
I read the Merck Vioxx settlement agreement today and section 9.1 states we pay our lawyers their fees as agreed upon (33% in my case ) and from that they pay the 8% to a common legal fund. So we pay 33% unless your laywers are charging you guys less.
Paul
SC - This is unfortunate to you, my layer told me today that the most I have to pay is up to 8%, it is too bad for you to pay the full 33%. Maybe because SW had more involvement. I was only 44 when I had my heart attack, lucky I am alive, I hate Merck for what they knew, what they did and how little they have to pay, this settlement is a dime to them. Fortunately my law firm is looking out for the victoms, at leasst we will get a little more. I hope you are OK though, I was real lucky!
Kerry's wife
In response to Paul G….the facts in my husband’s case certainly weren’t “blown out of proportion”. He had a state DOT physical (much more involved than a regular physical) about 2 weeks before his heart attack….bp was well within normal, healthy range…passed the physical with flying colors. My husband was 46 years old and was prescribed Vioxx after the VIGOR study was done but before the results were ever released. When the dr. came from ER, he told us he didn’t know if he would be able to save him or not. My husband is now limited on what he can do, will be on bp meds, and has to deal with 2 stents in his heart and cardiologist appointments for the rest of his life (he’s now 53). Many lost lives. The benefits to some DO NOT outweigh what it has already cost in lost and shattered lives or what it might have cost in the future had it not been pulled. This settlement is a drop in the bucket….they should have ponyed up a good deal more.
finn
I had my first MI inFeb, and had 5 stents put in and they only worked until May then came the triple bypass With major problems, I had 40 pints of blood run through me, being a R.N. and looking at the bright red blood coming out my chest tubes was really terrible,I knew I was bleeding to death and had to wait for a doctor to take a weekend break with his family before coming back in to fix me. My second bypass. I also had a juglar I.V. and one in every extremity with some plasma or IV. fluids running through me. To make it worse I was awake enough to know when they were pulling the staples out of my chest and could hear them talking about me dying. I was 57 and those questions they ask everyone. I was not over weight and no family history of heart disease. the only possible yes question might have been nondiagnosed type-2 diabetis. So tell me my settlement could be any where close to fair when they paid older, sicker, who had heart disease for 23 years plus bypass. 7+ million dollars and some of us who did not get to go to court are being shafted as far as I am concerned.How do you people feel about not getting justice????????
Denise Morris
I have not seen any post that says whether anyone{or their lawyer has seen a penny of the settlement and it is now octtober}! I still have to wait for strokes and I feel I have been waiting forever and getting deeper in the hole.Where is the MONEY!!!!