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Vioxx payouts may not be enough
A pharmacist holds up a bottle of the arthritis drug Vioxx.
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Scott Jagow: For awhile, it looked like we would see a hundred years of Vioxx trials. But last year, drug company Merck settled the lawsuits over it's the painkiller for $4.8 billion. This week, that money starts going to the victims. Dan Grech reports.
Dan Grech: More than 97 percent of people who sued Merck agreed to the settlement. That's nearly 50,000 people. Individual payouts will range from $5,000 to several million dollars. Still, many claimants say it's not enough.
Al Pennington is a retired TV broadcaster who had a heart attack after taking Vioxx:
Al Pennington: When they see that $4.85 billion figure, the public thinks, wow, those people are going to be rich. But then a lawyer takes 35-40 percent, the plaintiff is left with very little.
Pennington says his check will barely cover the prescription drugs he now takes for his weakened heart.
Claimants will start receiving their checks in a few weeks. That doesn't mean Merck's troubles are over. The company still faces hundreds of potential lawsuits.
I'm Dan Grech for Marketplace.
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The current Vioxx Settlement is a travesty to justice, and has corrupted the legal system upon which we citizen victims depend. It has destroyed the trust between attorneys and their clients and, besides guaranteeing a huge payday for the lawyers involved and limiting Merck's exposure, has done very little to compensate a huge number of victim/plaintiffs who have suffered devastating permanent injury and/or death.
If you are a Vioxx Plaintiff, whether you have opted in or out of the Settlement, you owe it to yourself to visit the web site http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MerckSettlement... This is where many Vioxx Plaintiffs have been gathering online since the settlement announcement to discuss the problems/merits of the Settlement. Objections ABOUND!
Many plaintiffs have been given erroneous or misleading/confusing info from their attorneys, and understand precious little regarding the specifics of how the settlement actually works. I fear a great number of plaintiffs have seemingly been led down the garden path as sheep to slaughter, primarily for the financial gain of their attorneys.
I feel certain that most plaintiffs who have opted into the settlement, once they realize or are notified of what their actual settlement amount will be and what they will net after attorney fees and insurance subrogation liens/responsibilities, will be furiously disappointed.
Once again the website is:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MerckSettlement...
(Or MERCKSETTLEMENT@YAHOOGROUPS.COM)
Henry Smith
A 15 second sound bite for one of the survivors of this dreaded drug. That's it ? Too bad you couldn't talk to any of the dead. The FDA now reportedly estimates that the total number of US Vioxx deaths may be between 89,000 and 140,000. Worldwide Vioxx deaths are estimated to be between 150,000 and 200,000. From http://www.adrugrecall.com/vioxx/death.html
15 seconds. Let's see, how much air time has Merck received ?
I have serious doubts about our judicial system. The FDA as well as our Congress, who I feel should be listening to us.
The real news here (which needs to be reported in much more detail) is that the settlement may well be illegal, in that it involved an enforced boycott by lawyers of any plaintiff who refused the "offer" (violating both ABA model rules of conduct and state and federal laws); plaintiffs were thus told they must sign a release saying they were doing so voluntarily and without coercion, at the same time being told if they didn't do so they would lose legal representation. Additionally, the amounts most plaintiffs who suffered serious heart attacks and strokes will receive (after deductionlegal expenses and insurance subrogation) may be well under $50,000, if that. The 'settlement' is designed to subtract points for any other "risk factor" even though people with risk factors should have been the last to receive a drug that increased their risks of having a heart attack. The settlement is therefore both an attack on our legal system and a travesty of justice for victims.
I feel that many things are wrong here! Firstly, MERCK not accepting any responsibilities for this travesty. Next, the cap on the settlement amount when they were profiting at many peoples injury. Finally, the round about way of tort reform and the division of lawyer- client relationship.
I feel the VIOXX victim is really getting the short end of the stick, and MERCK, Merck's lawyers, the PSC (8%), the plaintiffs attorneys (35%-40%) and the Insurances companies (who didn't have to file suit, thus don't have to pay attorney fees) are the ones who are really benefiting from this so called settlement. All plaintiffs who signed did so under the vail of "either sign up for the settlement or we as your attorney will find a way to drop you from our representation."
To me this isn't about the money. No money could be enough to fix my heart that was damaged by taking a drug that did more harm than it helped. Add to the thousands of those that lost loved ones, our lives have been changed forever. The people affected directly are not the ones will benefit financially from this settlement.
The only thing it does for me is close the book but not the continued damage.
How much money is a fair settlement? I took Vioxx for years before it was withdrawn from the market and even the last 2 years my doctor doubled my doseage as he did not know of the health issues it would cause. After my heart attack he continued to give me the drug till withdrawn from market by Vioxx! I never had any heart issues before taking the drug, and after a peroid of time getting it out of my system, no other problems. It is too late now as it has taken away my life style, as all I can do is sit around and be miserable. It has afected all parts of my body, mind and body functions. Yes the lawyers will make more than the patients on this deal. I will be taking a huge cut because I smoke! I have smoked for 60 years, and never had any complications and smoke today as it is a bad habit that I have not been able to defeat! Vioxx caused blood clots and that is what almost killed me on the operating table. Doctors were mislead, and also the patients, or was it lied too! I think they are getting off cheap for all the problems they have caused for being deciteful. Yes I am mad when I see the huge profits they made by fixing the tests and studys they did and knowing the damage they were doing. I am tired of them draging thier feet, finish up unfinished business so we can put this behind us!
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