URGENT NOTICE: In many instances, if you have not filed a complaint you may lose your rights to bring a claim or receive compensation for any valvular heart damage that you sustained from Fen-Phen diet drugs.
While there are some exceptions available to class members who timely requested a free echocardiogram under the Screening Program, to fully protect your rights you should immediately contact an attorney to determine if there are any important dates which are approaching. For this reason, you should act immediately.
Tens of thousands of former fen-phen users are now able to file individual lawsuits against pharmaceutical maker Wyeth after opting out of a national class-action settlement. Wyeth, known as American Home Products when it recalled its diet drugs Pondimin and Redux in 1997 because of their link to heart valve damage and primary pulmonary hypertension, has received 90,000 opt-out claims. Fen-phen users had until May 3, 2003 to opt-out of the class action settlement.
Analysts say Wyeth has already paid $12.8 billion to patients harmed by Fen-phen but could now spend an additional $4 billion because of the sudden rise in patient claims. Two-thirds of those who chose to not join the class action did so within the last two weeks of the deadline.