Merck Agrees to Blanket Settlement on Vioxx

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. Merck and Co. Inc. has agreed to pay $4.85 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits in one of the largest civil cases ever, according to published reports Friday. (AP Photo/Daniel Hulshizer, file) (Daniel Hulshizer - Associated Press)

Lanier said he would recommend the settlement to his remaining personal injury clients. His three court victories will not be covered by yesterday's agreement, he said.

Under the terms of the settlement, Merck could walk away from the deal if less than 85 percent of the plaintiffs with pending cases involving heart attack, stroke and death do not agree to shift their claims to a medical review panel. The review board will examine the underlying health problems of the plaintiffs, how long they used Vioxx and how long it took them to develop symptoms.

People whose claims are denied will be allowed to challenge the decision, but they cannot present new evidence to fortify their cases in response to a previous settlement by Wyeth involving the "fen-phen" weight loss drug. That deal swelled to seven times its original size after thousands more lawsuits alleging the medicine had caused heart damage came to light.

"This is an opportunity to end a long and difficult litigation that has stretched on for more than three years," said Russ Herman, a plaintiff lawyer who helped negotiate the Merck settlement. "A fair resolution is in everybody's best interest."

Merck's $4.85 billion cash pool includes fees to plaintiff lawyers, typically between 30 percent and 40 percent of an award. Initial payouts to victims could begin as early as August 2008, executives said.

"We have done everything we can to close the doors," said Bruce N. Kuhlik, Merck's general counsel, in the conference call.

Staff researcher Richard Drezen contributed to this report.