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Merck Settles for $4.85 Billion, Now What? – Podcast with Edward Milstein Posted: November 12th, 2007 By: Zach Heller Category: Opinion Corner, Podcasts, The News Beat
Last week, Merck agreed to settle the bulk of its remaining lawsuits for $4.85 billion. This comes more than three years after the drug was originally recalled after being linked with numerous health risks, such as heart attacks and stroke. The drug, originally touted as a more effective pain killer that was easier on the stomach than older drugs like aspirin, was recalled in 2004.
Merck, which had already fought and won 12 out of 17 Vioxx lawsuits, finally determined that it was far too expensive to try all 30,000 plus cases. The $4.85 billion dollar settlement will be put into a fund that will then be divided up among the remaining lawsuits. For those still seeking claims, the wait is not over yet. Individual cases will be heard to determine the amount of money paid to each claimant.
We spoke with Edward P. Milstein, Esq., an attorney working on the Vioxx case, about the settlement. He told us that the remaining claimants will need to be able to prove three things in order to receive money from the settlement. They need to prove through medical records that they suffered a heart attack or stroke, that they took at least 30 Vioxx pills, and that the heart attack or stroke occurred within 14 days of taking Vioxx. Please enjoy the podcast below with Edward Milstein and hear more about the settlement from a lawyer that is directly involved.
The settlement can be interpreted a number of different ways. For some, it means that they don’t have to wait to go to trial, which can be a welcome relief. They can now focus their attention on working out the details of their individual claim rather than proving the case against Merck. For others, there may be concern over how much of the $4.85 billion they will actually receive, especially after health insurance companies make their claims for reimbursement. Although the number is large, it gets significantly smaller when you consider the amount of claims, and the other fees and litigation expenses involved. There are still many details to be worked out and the process of distributing the funds will take years to complete, but for everyone involved this is a major step towards resolution.
