Accepting Cases Nationwide
CYNTHIA K. GARRETT
Attorney at Law
AHP SETTLEMENT CLAIMS CAN STILL BE FILED:
We are accepting new Pondimin and Redux clients. Deadlines apply to when an injury must occur in order to qualify for compensation, and when you must file your claim for that injury. See below to learn what deadlines apply to you.
WHAT IS FEN-PHEN:
Fen-Phen is the common name of a weight loss protocol heavily marketed in the 1990's that combined phentermine with either fenfluramine (Pondimin) or dexfenfluramine (Redux). Pondimin and Redux were shown to cause damage to the mitral and aortic heart valves; and a serious lung condition called primary pulmonary hypertension. Pondimin and Redux were withdrawn from the U.S. market in 1997.
WHAT IS THE AHP DIET DRUG SETTLEMENT TRUST:
The AHP Settlement Trust was established to administer the injury claims of registered claimants who used either Pondimin or Redux.
TIMING OF QUALIFYING INJURIES:
Qualifying injuries must have been diagnosed prior to the Pondimin and/or Redux User’s 80th birthday. Beyond that, what injuries qualify, and when they must have occurred, depends on whether he or she participated in the Seventh Amendment Supplemental Fund.
DEADLINES:
If you have already received Matrix Compensation and did not participate in the 7th Amendment Supplemental Fund you may file a Supplemental Claim if you have been diagnosed with a medical condition that qualifies for a Matrix Compensation Level and dollar value above any previous Matrix Compensation award you have received. The deadline for filing a progression of injury claim is four years from the date the qualifying injury was diagnosed.
If you have not received Matrix Compensation, opted-out of the 7th Amendment, and can show that any matrix level condition was present before December 31, 2015, you may file an Original Claim for Matrix Compensation. The deadline for filing a claim is four years from the date the qualifying injury was diagnosed.
If you participated in the 7th Amendment Supplemental Fund, the deadline for filing a claim has expired.
Who participated in the 7th Amendment Supplemental Fund?
Those Pondimin and Redux users who met the definition of a Category 1 or 2 Claimant - as defined in the Seventh Amendment to the AHP Settlement Agreement - were automatically included as participants in the Seventh Amendment Supplemental Fund unless the claimant filed an opt-out form by November 9, 2004. The definition of Category 1 included those who had an unresolved Green Form on file on November 9, 2004, which supported a Level I or II injury. The definition of Category 2 included those diagnosed with no more than FDA positive or mild mitral regurgitation prior to the end of the Screening Period.
QUALIFYING INJURY DEFINITIONS:
The definitions of the five Matrix Compensation Benefit Levels as found in the AHP Diet Drug Settlement Trust Agreement are linked here.
If you are not a doctor, or a lawyer currently familiar with Fen Phen injuries, these definitions can be overwhelming. To assist you, we provide below the criteria we use to determine if we are interested in reviewing a case. During a case review we will compare the injuries suffered with the official AHP Settlement Trust criteria.
If you think you may have a viable claim, review Our Initial Criteria For Fen Phen Case Review below. If you meet all of the Basic Criteria, and at least one of the Additional Criteria, contact us immediately to speak with an attorney about your case.
CYNTHIA K. GARRETT, ATTORNEY AT LAW
OUR INITIAL CRITERIA FOR A FREE FEN PHEN CASE REVIEW
Requires all Basic Criteria and any one of the Additional Criteria listed below.
Basic Criteria – All required:
1. Proof of use of Pondimin or Redux.
2. Registered with the AHP Settlement Trust on or before May 3, 2003.
3. Baseline Heart Valve Injury: Qualifying echocardiogram performed after claimant’s first use of Pondimin or Redux and before the end of the screening period, which shows mild or greater mitral or aortic heart valve regurgitation. The screening period ended on July 3, 2003, for echocardiograms provided by the AHP Settlement Trust, and on January 3, 2003, for all others.
4. Matrix Level Heart Valve Injury: Qualifying echocardiogram performed after first use of Pondimin or Redux which shows moderate or greater mitral or aortic regurgitation plus at least one of the following complicating factors: enlarged left atrium, enlarged left ventricle, elevated pulmonary arterial pressure, or low ejection factor.
Additional Criteria - One required:
If you or a loved one meet all of the Basic Criteria above and any of the conditions listed below, contact us today to discuss your particular case in detail.
Our criteria found here is broader than that required by the AHP Settlement Trust. It is meant to serve only as a starting point, a place to begin a conversation. If we accept your case, we will compare the injuries documented in your medical records with the criteria set out in the AHP Settlement Trust Agreement.
1. Mitral or aortic heart valve repair or replacement surgery has been performed.
2. Mitral or aortic heart valve repair or replacement surgery is needed but cannot be performed due to other health risks.
3. Complications from mitral or aortic heart valve surgery including: infection of the surgical site, kidney failure with dialysis, quadriplegia or paraplegia due to spinal injury during valve surgery, or HIV or Hepatitis C acquired through blood transfusion during valve surgery.
4. A second surgery to the same valve, aortic or mitral, within eighteen months of the first.
5. Severe pulmonary hypertension.
6. Sudden Cardiac Death and/or Cardiac Arrest, where an EKG taken at the time includes the arrhythmias known as: ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia. These conditions are treated with immediate defibrillation (electrical shocks to the heart) without which the patient will die within minutes, and may die despite these efforts.
7. Bacterial endocarditis (infection in the heart) which caused a stroke, peripheral embolus, coma or death.
8. Ejection fraction below 40% six months or more after aortic or mitral valve surgery.
9. Ejection fraction below 35% for the mitral valve or 30% for the aortic valve, where valve surgery is needed but cannot be performed due to other health risks.
10. Blood clot originating in the heart that traveled elsewhere resulting in kidney damage, abdominal organ injury requiring surgery, or amputation of an arm, leg, hand or foot.
11. Have had, or need, a heart transplant.
12. Stroke caused by chronic aortic fibrillation, heart valve disease, or any of the above, with permanent disability.
13. Coma or vegetative state caused by chronic aortic fibrillation, heart valve disease, or any of the above.
14. Death caused by heart arrhythmia, heart valve disease, or from any of the above.
Toll Free: 866-584-0070
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Attorney Referrals:
Accepting referrals from other attorneys.
Looming Deadlines:
If you think you may have a case, please remember, it can take months to get all the medical records needed to fully evaluate a case, and a period of time after that to put the claim together.
If you think you might have a case, contact us today. It would be a pity to have a viable claim and not act in time.
CONTACT US TODAY
Physical Address:
406 S. Boulder Avenue, Suite 400
Tulsa, OK 74103-3800
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1550
Jenks, OK 74037-1550
Toll Free: 866-584-0070
Telephone: 918-584-0070
Email: CKG@CKGLawfirm.com
Representing Pondimin and Redux victims since 1998.
Accepting new Fen Phen clients
and referrals from other attorneys.
2017 FEN PHEN UPDATE - DEADLINES AND QUALIFYING INJURIES
Disclaimers:
Please note, delivery of information through this web site does not constitute legal advice. Communication via this website does not constitute or create an attorney-client relationship between our firm and the sender.