Zyprexa Settlement Approved
Article from Sept. 28 by Jeff Swiatek of The Indianapolis Star — $700M Zyprexa Deal OK’d by Judge:
A federal judge has given his blessing to Eli Lilly and Co.’s complex $700 million settlement with Zyprexa patients, who should see the money soon after lawyers and Medicare and Medicaid take their cuts.…The order by Judge Jack B. Weinstein, of federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., posted on the court’s Web site Tuesday, is one of the last steps in carrying out the private settlement by Lilly to deal with thousands of lawsuits and potential lawsuits against it over its antipsychotic Zyprexa.Patients alleged the schizophrenia drug, Lilly’s best-selling product, caused diabetes-related symptoms, including weight gain and high blood-sugar levels.
Payments will range from $5,000 lump-sum awards to more than $100,000 per person.
Notably, the Zyprexa deal is a mass aggregate settlement of about 8000 individual claims in the MDL, rather than a class action settlement. Although it’s not a class action and therefore not governed by the judicial approval requirement of Rule 23(e), Judge Weinstein took the unusual step of reviewing the settlement, and also capped attorneys’ fees. Another interesting aspect of the deal, according to the Indianapolis Star article, is that it includes a reimbursement plan for Medicare’s and Medicaid’s share of the settlement funds.
HME
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Settlement and Zyprexa