To hear Merck executives tell it, the $4.8 billion settlement of Vioxx claims is practically airtight. Of course, that's what American Home Products executives were saying back in 1999, when they sewed up a $4.8 billion settlement of thousands of lawsuits over the dangerous diet drug combination fen-phen.
If previous mass tort "settlements" are any example, Merck will be spending a lot more than $4.8 billion before it's done. American Home Products, now part of Wyeth, has reserved $21.1 billion so far to pay for diet drug litigation, and the settlement is in its seventh iteration.
Merck has better facts on its side--it pulled Vioxx off the market early on, and it's unlikely many more plaintiffs will emerge before state statute of limitations laws doom their claims--but the company could easily wind up spending two to three times as much as it expects.
More at Forbes
If previous mass tort "settlements" are any example, Merck will be spending a lot more than $4.8 billion before it's done. American Home Products, now part of Wyeth, has reserved $21.1 billion so far to pay for diet drug litigation, and the settlement is in its seventh iteration.
Merck has better facts on its side--it pulled Vioxx off the market early on, and it's unlikely many more plaintiffs will emerge before state statute of limitations laws doom their claims--but the company could easily wind up spending two to three times as much as it expects.
More at Forbes
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