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To qualify, claimants will have to pass three gates: an injury gate requiring objective, medical proof of MI or ischemic stroke ..., a duration gate based on documented receipt of at least 30 VIOXX pills, and a proximity gate requiring receipt of pills in sufficient number and proximity to the event to support a presumption of ingestion of VIOXX within 14 days before the claimed injury.

The settlement was somewhat surprising given that Merck has won 11 of the cases that have gone to trial and lost just five. It will certainly be seen as a feather in the caps of the six plaintiffs' lawyers who made up the negotiating committee: Andy D. Birchfield Jr. of Beasley Allen, Edward Blizzard of Blizzard McCarthy, Thomas V. Girardi of Girardi & Keese, Russ M. Herman of Herman, Herman, Katz & Cotlar, Arnold Levin of Levin, Fishbein, Sedran & Berman, and Christopher A. Seeger of Seeger Weiss.

There is already an Official Vioxx Settlement Web site, where you can find information and download a pdf file.

Gigi-Karen