More than 59,000 people have registered for the Vioxx settlement and it looks like plaintiffs will begin to see initial payments soon.
Vioxx was approved for use in 1999 and eventually reached sales of over $2.5 billion. Since then, the FDA has ordered the drug to be taken off the market after it was linked to more than 27,000 heart attacks from 1999 to 2003.
Merck announced last November that it would settle $4.85 billion in settlements with the thousands of unfortunate people who had filed Vioxx lawsuits. The settlements will be awarded on an individual basis and the amount of money each person receives will vary on a number of factors.
Apparently, Tuesday is the deadline for submitting medical and pharmacy records to back up claims.
