| Victim Attorneys Applaud Amendment to Fen-Phen Trust New Option Allows for Quick, Reduced Payment for Least Serious Cases May 7, 2004 DALLAS, May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The following was released today by Majority Counsel: A coalition of attorneys who represent Fen-Phen victims today commended Wyeth for working to create an amendment to the Fen-Phen Trust -- labeled the 7th Amendment -- that will allow victims with the least serious amount of heart damage to receive a reduced settlement in the short term and still retain the right to file future claims should their level of heart damage worsen. Wyeth has agreed to fund this new class of Trust members with an additional Trust deposit of $1.275 billion, keeping intact the more than $3.75 billion already paid by Wyeth for long-term help for victims with the most serious damage. "This is a big step in the right direction," said, Ed Blizzard, a Houston attorney with Blizzard, McCarthy & Nabers, LLP and a member of Majority Counsel, which includes attorneys who represent more than 45,000 Fen-Phen victims. "There are thousands and thousands of Fen-Phen victims who have waited for years to get the help they were promised. And while the terms of this proposed agreement differ from the initial Trust agreement, for most of these victims it is good to have the choice to get some relief now and retain the right to refile with the Trust if their condition worsens, rather than to wait and suffer while both sides debate the claims process," Blizzard continued. Since 2001, more than 90,000 cases have been filed with the Trust, and as of January 2004 fewer than 3,000 of these cases were approved. Trust managers and victim attorneys are hopeful that providing victims with the new 7th Amendment option will expedite the settlement of as many as 90% of these Trust claims. 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. It was later reported that another Fen- Phen ingredient produced by Wyeth, Redux, caused the same type of damage. Faced with the threat of thousands of lawsuits, Wyeth agreed to the establishment of a Trust that could serve mild and moderate cases of valvular heart damage. Victims who filed with the Trust forfeit their right to hold Wyeth accountable in court. The Trust does not handle the most serious cases of heart damage or primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) cases. Attorneys estimate that there are several thousand "opt-out" cases of severe heart damage and PPH that will be addressed in the courts. In late April, a Beaumont jury awarded more than $1 billion in damages against Wyeth for a single PPH death. 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: www.majoritycounsel.com . |