A $100 million settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed on behalf of victims of a tainted drug. In Michigan 19 people died of meningitis after getting a steroid shot contaminated with fungus. Nationwide, 64 people died and more than 750 people got sick.
Marc Lipton, one of the attorneys on a panel overseeing the case, says $100 million dollars is not nearly enough. But he says it's the best that could be done - since the company that made the bad drug went bankrupt.
Most of the money will come from companies that insured the drug maker.
“And they are coming from the two families who were the primary owners of the companies - they're coming out of their personal accounts,” he says.
Lipton says he hopes health insurance companies for the victims will agree to give up their claims to the settlement.
“The proceeds of these monies need to go to the patients who have suffered the most,” he says.
Lipton says there's a chance some more money will come from the companies that tested the drug, and then sent it to pain clinics around the country – including one clinic in Traverse City.
