Woman settles claim against bankrupt diet pill maker

$700,000 Settlement

A woman who suffered an aneurysm and hemorrhagic stroke after taking Dexatrim caplets for several days settled her claim against the diet pill maker for a gross settlement of $700,000.

The client, 39, began taking Dexatrim caplets on Aug. 30, 1998. She followed the instructions and took only one a day. Between 10 and 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 5, 1998, the suburban St. Louis, Missouri resident was stricken with a severe headache. She called her mother who then called the Emergency Medical Service. During the ambulance ride to the hospital, she felt nauseous and vomited. By the time they arrived at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center, she couldn’t squeeze the fingers of medical personnel, couldn’t comprehend conversations and she was repeating herself.

The client was taken to the operating room where it was discovered she was suffering from an aneurysm. The surgeon clipped the anterior choroidal artery aneurysm, but not before she required a transfusion due to the amount of blood she had lost.

After ten days in the hospital, the client was released to the care of St. John’s Mercy Rehabilitation Center. At the time, she was still suffering from delusional episodes and hallucinations. Her right side was partially paralyzed and she was unable to write her name.

About two months before her stroke, the client had taken early retirement from her job as a sales manager with AT&T, leaving her without employment at the time of her stroke and aneurysm. After two weeks of intensive rehabilitation, the client’s attention and comprehension, while not at the level they had been at before the aneurysm and stroke, had reached adequate levels. It was the opinion of the neuropsychologist that the client could work as long as her job did not involve complex decision making or much physical exertion.
 
Three months after her stroke, Dexatrim’s maker, Thompson Medical Company, Inc. was acquired by Chattem Inc. Chattem, Inc. subsequently merged with Delaco, Inc.

In November 2000, after studies demonstrated that phenylpropanolamine (PPA), the active ingredient in Dexatrim, caused strokes in women, the Food and Drug Administration recommended that it be removed from all over-the-counter drugs.

On July 28, 2003, the client filed a strict liability and negligence lawsuit in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis against Dexatrim’s maker and several retail stores that sold the diet pills. The case was removed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri by the diet pill maker. It was then transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle as part of a multi-district litigation case. (The claims against the diet pill suppliers were dismissed, following the negotiated settlement between plaintiffs and the Delaco Settlement Trust.)

The final transfer order was entered on Feb. 12, 2004. That same day, Delaco Company filed for bankruptcy, staying the 1400 pending cases involving the Dexatrim ingredient PPA. To resolve the claims, the bankruptcy court approved the establishment of an $86 million trust for the benefit of the claimants.

The client’s attorney Dawn Mefford, with the St. Louis-based law firm Paul J. Passanante PC & Associates, settled her client’s case for $700,000. Originally, under the trust’s terms, the client would have received only 40 percent of the settlement amount. However, she ultimately received an upward adjustment of 90 percent.  On February 20, 2007, the client received the $630,000 payment.

Noting that the client didn’t have a claim for lost wages, Mefford said, “Our client suffered a horrible injury and I’m proud to say she received a good settlement from those responsible.”

Jane Doe
v.
Thompson Medical Company Inc., et al.
U.S. District Court
Western District of Washington at Seattle
MDL No. 1407