PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The following was released today by Majority Counsel:
Attorneys who represent Fen-Phen victims today announced that Federal Judge Harvey Bartle III has granted preliminary approval to the 7th Amendment, a modification of the National Settlement between Wyeth and victims of Fen- Phen. A detailed explanation of the 7th Amendment will now be sent immediately to all Fen-Phen victims eligible to enter the new Claims Facility, who will have the chance to review, object or opt out of the amendment before it is granted final approval and enacted.
If granted final approval by Judge Bartle, the 7th Amendment will create a $1.275 billion fund for Class Members who opt to receive the reduced settlements, leaving what remains of the original $3.75 billion Trust to help victims with ongoing health problems in years to come.
“The original Fen-Phen Trust is going bust. This approval is a sign of real progress for thousands of victims who have been locked in a bureaucratic nightmare with no way to receive the help they deserve for their heart and lung damage,” said Jerry Alexander, a victim representative and member of the 7th Amendment Liaison Committee.
If the 7th Amendment receives Court approval, Wyeth will pay reduced settlements to more than 40,000 Fen-Phen victims with non-surgical conditions, while preserving funds in the original Trust. This guarantees future funds, as needed, for those claimants who participate in the 7th Amendment and ultimately have health problems that progress to heart valve surgery or other serious complications.
This agreement, one year in the making, is designed to resolve more than 90% of the pending matrix-level claims currently filed with the Wyeth Fen-Phen Trust.
“Thousands and thousands of Fen-Phen victims have waited months, even years for the help they were promised from Wyeth. The 7th Amendment is a real compromise -- a chance for these people to settle claims with the confidence that there will be funds available should their health decline,” said Wayne Spivey, Chairman of the 7th Amendment Liaison Committee.
“We are a long way from fixing the Fen-Phen Trust; but this preliminary approval is a start towards healing this broken system, and the many lives that have been trapped in its bureaucratic web,” continued Spivey.
The stay on Trust claims processing, enacted in May 2004, will continue during the victim review process, a period of 60 days. Wyeth also retains “walkaway rights” from the settlement if a substantial number of victims decline to participate.
The Fen-Phen Trust was established in 2001 after the Mayo Clinic reported that Pondimin, a drug sold by Wyeth as half of the Fen-Phen combination, caused serious heart and lung damage. Since its creation, only a small fraction of Fen-Phen victims have received the help they were promised.
According to Ellen Presby, a member of the 7th Amendment Liaison Committee who represents hundreds of claimants who have filed individual lawsuits, “This amendment provides a great opportunity to fairly resolve the claims filed within the National Settlement. The time has now come for Wyeth to turn its attention to the individual lawsuits filed against the company.”
Majority Counsel is a coalition of more than 45 firms and 150 attorneys representing the rights of over 45,000 victims who have been damaged by Fen- Phen. For more information about Majority Counsel, please visit: http://www.majoritycounsel.com/ .
Majority Counsel
CONTACT: Kelly Griesenbeck, +1-214-871-7723, orkgriesenbeck@allynco.com , for Majority Counsel
Web site: http://www.majoritycounsel.com/
