Merck says thousands file for Vioxx payments

[Celebration]

http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN0333618920080303

CHICAGO, March 3 (Reuters) - Merck & Co (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Monday said it has moved closer to resolving thousands of claims arising from its 2004 withdrawal of arthritis pill Vioxx, with 93 percent of people alleging the drug caused a heart attack or stroke submitting documents in a $4.85 billion settlement.

Of some 47,000 people who registered eligible injuries, about 44,000 submitted some or all of the documents that could qualify them for an interim payment in the program to resolve state and federal heart attack and stroke claims filed in the United States, Merck said.

Merck withdrew arthritis pill Vioxx from the market in September 2004 after research found it doubled heart attack and stroke risk in patients who took it for at least 18 months. More than 20 million people in the United States had used the drug, and the company was hit with tens of thousands of personal-injury lawsuits.

...............................

About 5,500 eligible heart attack and stroke claimants alleging death have initiated enrollment, and more than 26,500 eligible heart attack and stroke claimants alleging more than 12 months of use have initiated enrollment, Merck said. In addition, the eligibility of another 5,000 claimants who have sought to enroll has to be determined.

[trotsky]

1. "Meeting the threshold obligates Merck to pay $4.85 billion in installments into a resolution fund."

Violators pay. That's good. Too bad there is not a similar system in place for the supplement pushers.

[Celebration]

2. the legal system is available to anyone!!

There is no reason that a class action lawsuit can't be started against another industry--in fact, when large numbers of people are injured, it is quite common.

[trotsky]

3. Good luck with that.

I'm glad I don't live in your libertarian wet dream.

[Celebration]

4. Oh, you mean where the internet is uncensored?

Gosh, it's a real fantasy where the internet is not subject to censorship contrary to the First Amendment.

[trotsky]

7. Where you can have all the child porn you want.

Yes, that uncensored Internet. You truly mean uncensored, right? And not just censoring what YOU want censored?

[mzmolly]

5. My aunt was a Vioxx casualty.

She did ever what her doctors told her, no questions asked. May she rest in peace.

[varkam]

6. I hope they get every penny they deserve.

And I hope Merck gets smacked with some massive punitive damages - maybe this will dissuade that kind of behavior in the future.

[Celebration]

8. one would think

that some of the individuals within the company would have been fired or something. Do you know if anything like that happened? I haven't heard of that, but I could have missed it.

Until individuals within companies pay the price, this type of behaviour will continue.

[varkam]

9. The problem isn't individuals, the problem is the corporation.

I really don't think it was just a few bad apples that went off the reservation and decided to bury data on their own - it was a corporate decision.