Vioxx Settlement Calculator

 

Step 1: Determination of Basis Points

If you are a Qualifying Claimant as explained more fully in the Description of Settlement Agreement, the first step in the claim evaluation process will be for the Claims Administrator to determine the Qualifying Claimant’s Basis Points. Basis Points are based upon: (1) the Qualifying Claimant’s age at the time of his/her Vioxx-related injury; (2) the Qualifying Claimant’s overall duration of Vioxx usage prior to his/her Vioxx-related injury; and (3) the Qualifying Claimant’s injury level.

To determine a Qualifying Claimant’s Basis Points, please answer the following questions:

Type of Injury

What injury did the Qualifying Claimant suffer while taking Vioxx?

Only one injury can be selected. If the Qualifying Claimant suffered more than one injury, select the more serious injury while taking Vioxx.

Length of Use

How long did the Qualifying Claimant take Vioxx?

Seriousness of Injury — Heart Attack

Select only one injury category that best reflects the Qualifying Claimant’s injury.

If more than one category applies, the most serious injury level controls.

  1. :
    • Death; or
    • Unrescuscitated Sudden Cardiac Death
  2. :
    • Now suffers from a reduced ejection fraction of less than or equal to 20%; or
    • Underwent Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (CABG) plus complications resulting from that surgery within 6 months of your heart attack; or
    • Hospitalized for 30 or more days at the time of your heart attack.
  3. :
    • Has a heart ejection fraction of 21-29%; or
    • Hospitalization for 15-29 days at the time of your heart attack; or
    • Underwent Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery.
  4. :
    • Now suffers from a reduced heart ejection fraction of 30-39%; or
    • Hospitalized at time of heart attack for 10-14 days; or
    • Received stent (PTCA) implant and suffered from restenosis of the stented blood vessel within 6 months of your heart attack; or
    • Defibrillator or pacemaker placement.
  5. :
    • Now suffers from a reduced heart ejection fraction of 40-49%; or
    • Hospitalized at time of heart attack for 4-9 days; or
    • Received stent (PTCA) to open clogged blood vessel; or
    • Underwent angioplasty procedure to open blood vessel.
  6. :
    • Has a heart ejection fraction of 50% or greater; or
    • Hospitalized for 0-3 days at the time of your heart attack;
    • Underwent catheterization procedure.

Seriousness of Injury — Ischemic Stroke

Select only one injury category that best identifies your level of injury.

Select only one injury category that best identifies your level of injury. If you meet the criteria for more than one injury category, then the most serious injury level controls:

  1. :
    • Death
  2. :
    • Disability such that you require full time care in either a nursing care facility or in a nursing home facility (and did not need this care prior to your stroke). Full-time care means care administered by nurse or independent caregiver (not a family member or friend) for 8 hours or more each day.
  3. :
    • Disability such that you require some assistance to perform one or more basic activities of daily living (Dressing, Eating, Walking, Toileting, and Hygiene) (but do not require Full-time Care), provided that you did not need such assistance prior to your injury; or a diagnosis at the time of your injury and continuing for at least one year after your injury of aphasia (loss of ability to comprehend language) or hemianopsia (half vision).
  4. :
    • Disability such that you require some assistance to perform one or more instrumental activities of daily living (ability to use telephone, ability to prepare and serve meals, ability to do laundry, ability to manage day to day finances, ability to participate in housekeeping taks, and ability to travel outside the home) provided that you didn’t need such assistance prior to the event.
  5. :
    • any injury not falling within levels 1 through 4

Age

Select the Qualifying Claimant’s age group at the time of his/her heart attack or stroke :

Basis Points

Based upon the information you have entered, this claim would be assigned the following Basis Points in the Settlement Fund:

Step 2: Adjustments

Depending upon the product label (Vioxx package insert) that was in use by Merck at the time of the Qualifying Claimant’s Vioxx-related injury, and depending upon the number of days per week the Qualifying Claimant ingested Vioxx, the Basis Points may be increased or decreased.

Frequency of Use

In the 12 months leading up to the Qualifying Claimant’s injury, identify the consistency of Vioxx use:

Timeframe

Select the timeframe of the Qualifying Claimant’s injury and his/her Vioxx usage:

Subtotal Award Points

Based upon the information you have entered, you would be assigned the following subtotal award points:

Step 3: Risk Factor Reductions

The risk factors possessed by the Qualifying Claimant will be based upon the identification of risk factors from a Qualifying Claimant’s Event Records by the Claims Administrator.

Answer the following questions regarding the risk factors the Qualifying Claimant possessed at the time of his/her Vioxx-related injury:

Body Mass Index

What was the Qualifying Claimant’s estimated height at the time of his/her injury?

feet  inches

What was the Qualifying Claimant’s estimated weight at the time of his/her injury?

lbs

Medical Conditions

If you suffer from or have been told that you suffer from any of the following medical conditions, please check the box next to that condition:

  1. Did the Qualifying Claimant suffer from hypertension?

    (heart attack or ischemic stroke)

  2. Did the Qualifying Claimant suffer from high cholesterol?

    (heart attack or ischemic stroke)

  3. Did the Qualifying Claimant suffer from diabetes?

  4. Did the Qualifying Claimant suffer from Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD)?

  5. Did the Qualifying Claimant suffer Coronary Artery Disease prior to starting Vioxx?

  6. Did the Qualifying Claimant experience a heart attack prior to starting Vioxx?

  7. Did the Qualifying Claimant undergo a Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (CABG) prior to starting Vioxx?-

  8. Did the Qualifying Claimant suffer a stroke or TIA prior to starting Vioxx?

    (ischemic stroke)

  9. Did the Qualifying Claimant suffer from Carotid Artery Disease or undergo a carotid artery procedure prior to the initiation of Vioxx?

    (ischemic stroke)

  10. Did the Qualifying Claimant suffer from atrial fibrillation or heart failure prior to starting Vioxx?

    (ischemic stroke)

  11. Did the Qualifying Claimant suffer from Migraine headaches?

    (ischemic stroke)

  12. Did the Qualifying Claimant abuse alcohol?

  13. Did the Qualifying Claimant smoke after the Vioxx-related injury?

  14. Did the Qualifying Claimant smoke in the year leading up to the Vioxx-related injury?

  15. If you answered yes to the prior question, prior to the Qualifying Claimant’s Vioxx injury, did he/she smoke at least 1 pack per day for at least 30 years?

  16. Does the Qualifying Claimant have a family history of heart disease?

    (heart attack)

  17. If you answered yes to the prior question, did the mother, father, sisters, or brothers of the Qualifying Claimant suffer from a heart attack prior to age 55 if male or prior to age 65 if female?

    (heart attack)

  18. Do you have a family history of stroke?

    (ischemic stroke)

  19. If you answered yes to prior question, did your mother, father, sisters, or brothers suffer from a stroke prior to age 55 if male or prior to age 65 if female?

    (ischemic stroke)

  20. Did the Qualifying Claimant use any illegal substances in the year leading up to his/her injury?

  21. Did the Qualifying Claimant use any illegal substances in the 5 years leading up to his/her injury?

  22. At the time of the Qualifying Claimant’s injury, was the Qualifying Claimant performing any strenuous activity including, but not limited to, strenuous exercise (when he/she doesn’t routinely exercise), climbing hills, skiing, surfing, distance biking?

  23. Within the 5 days leading up to the Qualifying Claimant’s injury, had he/she undergone total joint athroplasty or other major surgery?

  24. If the Qualified Claimant is female, within the month leading up to the Qualified Claimant’s stroke, did she smoke and use birth control pills?

    (ischemic stroke)

  25. If female, was the Qualified Claimaing taking hormone replacement therapy within the month prior to her stroke, and had the Qualified Claimant started that hormone replacement therapy within the year leading up to her stroke?

    (ischemic stroke)

Subtotal Award Points

Based upon the information you have entered, you would be assigned the following subtotal award points:

Step 4: Additional Reductions

Due to the significant risk of heart attack that certain risk factor combinations pose, an additional 90% reduction will be taken if the Qualifying Claimant suffered from any of the following combinations:

Heart Attack

  • Prior heart attack or Coronary Bypass Surgery (prior to Vioxx usage) + Smoking or a BMI of 40 or greater
  • BMI of 50 or greater + Smoking
  • Prior Coronary Artery Disease + Extreme Smoking (1 ppd x 30 years)]

Ischemic Stroke

  • Prior (before Vioxx) heart attack, stroke, coronary bypass surgery, TIA + smoking or a BMI of 40 or greater
  • BMI greater than 50 + previous smoker or extreme smoking (1 ppd for 30 years)
  • Prior (before Vioxx) coronary artery disease or carotid artery disease + extreme smoking (1 ppd for 30 years)

Subtotal Award Points

Based upon the information you have entered, you would be assigned the following subtotal award points:

Step 5: Total Points

Based upon the information you have entered, the Qualifying Claimant’s Total Award Point Estimate would be:

Total Award Points

Based upon the information you have entered, you would be assigned the following estimated total award points:

Please understand that the Qualifying Claimant’s Total Award Point Estimate is only an estimate. The Total Award Points the Qualifying Claimant may ultimately receive will be based solely upon a review of his/her medical records by the Claims Administrator. To the extent there are discrepancies between the information you have entered and the Qualifying Claimant’s medical records, the Qualifying Claimant’s medical records will control. Please contact your attorney to discuss further your eligibility to participate in the Settlement Program and the possible point award total for your claim.

Although the value of each Award Point cannot be known until all claims participating in the Settlement Program are evaluated, the following will provide you a range of potential settlement values for the Qualifying Claimant’’s claim:

If each point is valued at: