Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

July 4, 2008 10:54:39 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

Back to the grid

Merck to Settle Suits for $4.85B

Posted Nov 9, 07 5:19 AM CST in Science & Health,  Business    Editor's Choice

(Newser) – Merck has agreed to shell out $4.85 billion to settle 27,000 Vioxx lawsuits brought by plaintiffs who argued that the pain medication damaged health and caused deaths. The agreement, one of the largest in history, must still be approved by 85% of the plaintiffs, but it's likely to go through, reports the New York Times.

Individual payments will vary, but the settlement works out to some $100,000 per person  before legal fees, which can grab as much as 50%. The settlement will end the threat of Merck being bankrupted by the lawsuits. But the company still faces civil and criminal investigations into how Merck responded to the discovery that the drug was linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

Source New York Times

Editor Recommended
An employee walks past a stained-glass window, bearing Merck & Co.'s name, as he walks to the elevator at the company's headquarters in a Whitehouse Station, N.J. file photo from Sept. 30, 2004. (AP Photo/Daniel...   (Associated Press)
Vioxx is arranged on a counting tray, laying on top of the botttle, at The Pennington Apothecary in Pennington, N.J., in this Sept. 30, 2004 file photo. (AP Photo/Daniel Hulshizer, file)   (Associated Press)
Merck's stock price   (Associated Press)
Offices of the Merck & Co. plant in Rahway, N.J., Merck's oldest plant, are seen in this July 19, 2002 file photo. (AP Photo/Mike Dere, file)   (Associated Press)
prev    next
play

Threads (1 of 3)

Tags

settlement  • civil lawsuits  • Merck  • painkiller  • Vioxx  • drug safety


Loading...

Loading...

Related Threads: Food & Drug Safety, Drug Companies, Really Large Lawsuits

Next story from this section »

Today's Most Popular


Other Business Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »