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Merck to Settle Suits for $4.85B

Deal will be official once 85% of plaintiffs agree

By Colleen Barry, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 9, 2007 5:19 AM CST

(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.

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)

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Merck to Settle Suits for $4.85B

Deal will be official once 85% of plaintiffs agree

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Merck to Settle Suits for $4.85B

Deal will be official once 85% of plaintiffs agree

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

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

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

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More Newser Stories

Court Tosses $32M Verdict Against Vioxx

Says evidence insufficient that it contributed to Texan's death

Merck Pays $950M to Settle Vioxx Charges

Feds accused company of illegal marketing

NYC Pays $7M in Sean Bell Shooting Lawsuit

'No amount of money can make up for the pain,' says fiancé

Drug Companies Hide Data From Docs

Edited info could mislead those prescribing meds

Scientists Still Question Popular Drugs Zetia, Vytorin

Much-prescribed cholesterol medicines may not reduce risk of heart disease, death

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