Vioxx Cases Can Settle
Vioxx product liability trials have caused Merck & Company to announce that it will pay $4.85 billion to settle about 27,000 claims over injuries linked to its Vioxx painkiller. Merck said in a statement that the company will pay the money into a settlement fund for qualifying claims that enter into the resolution process and that claims will be evaluated on an individual basis. The company said the agreement was not a class-action settlement.
The agreement represents a change in stance for the pharmaceutical giant, Merck, which earlier had insisted it would fight each Vioxx case. The settlement - one of the biggest ever in civil litigation - comes after almost 20 Vioxx civil trials were held over the last two years.
The amount plaintiffs will receive from the settlement will depend on how long they took the pain medication and the severity of their injuries. The agreement is intended to provide a significant degree of certainty toward resolving the majority of the outstanding Vioxx product liability claims in the United States for a fixed amount according to Merck representatives.
Of course, it is important for victims of Vioxx to timely present their claims and ensure that offers are consistent with their injuries. Vioxx users should be aware that Vioxx became a popular pain medication after it was approved for sale in 1999. From that time forward until Merck pulled the drug from the market in September 2004 due to safety concerns, it was available as a prescription pain reliever.
